Date a Fate
by Tsukikine
Summary: A young girl awakens in a crater with no memory of how she got there. Even as she seeks out her past, she'll save others along the way. After all, it's not wrong to help others. Heaven's Failure. Hiatus.
1. Lonely Yoshino 1

_"******, do you want to live?"_

_"Do you want to live, regardless of what life, or what form you assume?_

_"Yep, I wanted ****** to continued living from now on, more than myself. Well then, I'll show you a miracle. It's just your body that's broken, isn't it? Then we can use... It'll have to be my body, I guess._

_Silence._

_A new voice. "...It won't be enough... If you're willing to go that far, then accept this from me as well. I'd like to see how you'll take my gift."_

* * *

***** woke up in a crater.

Though she knew she should be surprised, she wasn't. As if waking up in craters was a daily occurrence... or as if she'd seen stranger things before.

Yet, she could not remember anything. Try as she might, nothing came to mind as to how she had gotten there, or why she was wearing what seemed to be red and black armor. For there was black armor covering her chest and back and black shorts, over which was a red coat. Something told her these were not normal civilian clothes, whether it was simply the appearance or the feeling of of mana _(shouldn't it be od?)_ flowing throughout the clothes... and throughout her? Indeed, she felt as if she had a second heart, pumping mana throughout her body, and yet it felt wrong, as if her body should not have a heart of mana. ****** did not understand, but at the moment, she was more concerned with getting her bearings rather than uncovering the secrets of her new body.

She furrowed her brow, trying to remember her name. It was on the tip of her tongue, and yet she could not remember what precisely it was. _'Emi,'_ she decided. The name felt right - even though it also did not feel complete, but Emi was not going to be picky.

With her name determined, Emi stood up and took a look at the world outside the crater. Around her was a park. Little paths weaved between trees and bushes, ducks splashed around in a small pond, and sunlight filtered in through the trees. She was both relieved and suspicious when she noted there were no civilians to see her strange clothes or to have been injured by whatever had left her in a crater. Why would the park be empty in the middle of the day?

A humming sound began to fill the air. Emi tensed, preparing for whatever was to come. An ominous feeling began to take hold.

There was an explosion, and suddenly Emi found herself at the center of an even larger crater, herself seemingly unharmed due to the mana that flowed throughout her and _reinforced _her defenses.

"Coordinates: GT-1820. Target: Unknown Spirit, likely a new one. Engaging."

Small figures hovered in the air, with what appeared to be jetpack-wings keeping them aloft. Each wore tight armor and each carried what appeared to be a large gun, each pointed... straight... at... Emi.

Emi immediately began to move, dodging back into the cover of the trees just as several blasts struck where she would've been seconds ago. Her mana flowed into her legs, reinforcing them to heights otherwise unachievable. The ground broke beneath her feet as she ran, pieces of dirt flying behind her as she tried to escape her pursuers, even as blasts rained down all around her.

Despite fleeing, Emi was not panicked at all. She did not run out of fear for herself, but out of a fear that she would hurt them. The people above her were more akin to children: fragile and harmless. She felt confident, like she knew she could survive. As if she had experienced this before -

_A witch stood before him as magic circles around her spun, unleashing the wrath of the heavens._

There was a stabbing pain in her chest, a feeling of loss. She had lost something _(or someone?)_ important to her. Something or someone that could not be replaced. She needed to remember, she needed to-

Emi snapped out of her trance just in time to see a glowing barrel pointed at her face.

She flipped her upper body back, sliding on her reinforced knees and dodging both the gunshot and the assailant who had descended below the treetops, before flipping up into a fighting position, arms out and ready to grasp - to grasp what?

_Swords._

_An infinite number of swords that spanned an entire world. Sword mundane and legendary alike upon a desolate hill-_

The steps came naturally as sparks of light coalesced in her hands, forming vague outlines of two blades.

Judging the concept of creation.

Hypothesizing the basic structure.

Duplicating the composition material.

Imitating the skill of its making.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth - ERROR! Something was missing!

Reproducing the accumulated years -ERROR!

Error. Termination imminent.

No. She was close, too close, and she needed a weapon to defend herself!

**Overriding failed processes... success.**

Excelling every manufacturing process.

Black and white blades _\- Kanshou and Bakuya_, her mind informed her - formed in her hands and she raised them before her face to deflect a second shot.

"Trace on," Emi muttered, the chant unneeded... but which she said anyways out of habit. Where had she picked up a habit like that?

Now that they were face to face, Emi could see that her attacker was a young girl with short white hair. She was young enough to be in middle school, but she carried herself like a trained warrior.

A trained warrior was different from an experienced _(was Emi experienced?)_ one, however.

Now in close range, the girl dropped her gun and brought forth a small device that was revealed to be a lightsaber. She swung it forward with textbook precision, a downward slash meant to allow her to put her weight into the blow.

Emi reinforced her arms and deflected it with one sword. After all, there was no need to use both hands to stop the blade when deflecting it only needed one. Her other hand was then free to form a fist and smash into her chest.

All living beings need to breathe, and the girl was no exception. Emi's original intention was to force the air from her lungs, forcing her to fall back. Instead, her strike through the girl backward, sending her crashing through a tree and carving a decently sized ditch.

Emi took a step forward. These people were _in her way_. They were _stopping her from finding what she lost_.

She was going to finish this girl.

Another step forward.

Then another-

_'This isn't right.'_

Emi paused.

_'__Even if the best possible outcome has someone get hurt to save many others, I still want to pursue a resolution where nobody is hurt.'_

The words echoed within her, and she found herself agreeing with them.

_'Would it ever be wrong to wish that no one got hurt?'_

Emi continued approaching the girl. However, instead of raising her blades to deal the finishing blow, she dismissed them and raised her arms. A staff formed in her hands, a circle on one end.

"Pain Break-" Emi paused. Though the girl before her was unconscious, there wasn't a single scratch on her. Experimentally, she nudged the girl with the staff. A green barrier appeared, protecting the girl.

While Emi would love to experiment on the barrier, the figures closing in above told her that she did not have the time. She turned away and ran.

* * *

"Welcome aboard again, bro." Kotori, the red-haired captain of the ship Fraxinus greeted her brother.

"I got here as soon as I could," Shido returned, still sweating from his run. "What's happening this time?"

"See for yourself." Kotori indicated to the large screen before them, showing the Anti-Spirit Team's efforts to catch a small figure on the ground. As they watched, the supposed spirit exited the park, making a beeline towards a living complex.

A zoom in gave a clearer view of the spirit. With her back turned, however, and with the camera having trouble keeping up with her movements, all that could be seen was pink hair and a red cape.

"This spatial quake is weaker than average," reported a member, "Roughly equal to what we'd expect from a spirit like Hermit."

"Hermit?" Shido asked. He was, after all, new, having only subdued one spirit so far.

"We give spirits codenames based on how they behave and look," Kotori explained to him. "Hermit is a particularly docile spirit that avoids fighting. At the moment, we're having a hard time keeping track of her, though we should get better readings with time. But enough about Hermit," she gestured to the screen. "This is a new spirit that we haven't seen before. We're calling her Blacksmith, since she seems able to make weapons."

As Shido watched, he noticed something. "She's not fighting anyone."

"Good job, bro. I wonder how long it took you to figure that one out?" Kotori shot back. "Blacksmith seems to only fight when necessary; otherwise she always escapes. Her reasons are unknown."

Kotori leaned forward from her station. "Watch her carefully, bro. This is another spirit you'll have to date and kiss. Take notes, see what you can find."

* * *

Emi took a deep breath from within the apartment building she was hiding in. She had speedily escaped the park and broke into the apartment building.

There were no people in the building either, but there were signs indicating that there had been people not too long ago. Coffee sat on desks, still warm. Electricity in the building still worked. The building still had running water as well. All this lead Emi to believe that they had all been evacuated.

_'Likely in preparation for this battle. They expected me to appear here.'_

Yet, despite having been sure that she had avoided the flying people, they had begun to gather around the building.

_'They're tracking me!'_

Emi raced through the structure, escaping through a back door before weaving back and forth through the city. As she ran, she spread her mana out, letting it scan herself and her surroundings to form a blueprint _(structural grasp?)._

_'No bugs,'_ she noted, even as gunfire destroy the bus stop she just raced by. _'Are they tracking my mana?' _She was leaking a large amount of it, after all.

She escaped into a department store. _'If I stop my mana from circulating so freely, will I be able to escape them?' _She dashed over to a sales counter and leaped behind it, hiding her from view. She settled into a meditation behind the counter, once again using magic to grasp the structure of her mana.

A flaming heart. Emi could see within herself a core shaped like a crystal that pulsed, sending mana from her chest throughout her body along straight lines - _magic circuits_.

All Emi had to do was figure out how to subdue the pulse of her core.

Outside the building, however, the commander of the AST gave her order.

"Surround this building, ladies! The Spirit is definitely in here!" Ryouko shouted to her subordinates.

"Yes ma'am!"

"I'm going in," Origami announced before flying towards the building.

"Wait!" But Origami had already broken into the building via a window. "Ugh. Rest of you, stay where you are! I'm going in after her!"

"Yes ma'am!"

As Ryouko entered the building, she saw Origami's unsheathed No Pain light blade, and yet the girl was standing in one place. Similarly activating hers, she set out to join her.

"Found anything?"

"The Spirit signal vanished."

"Let's go, Tobiichi. The spirit likely disappeared, like the rest always do. The rest of the team can do a sweep of this place."

* * *

Emi peeked out from behind a column at their retreating backs.

She was _very _thankful that she hadn't been found. Having failed to realize that the clothes didn't just circulate mana but were literally made out of it, she had been in for a horrible surprise when she ended up naked. Fortunately, she had managed to steal clothes from the clothing section.

Now dressed in a black t-shirt, black trousers and a red jacket, she began planning to sneak out of the building.

Of course, she had to leave through the first floor. If she jumped from a higher one, she would definitely get attention, plus she would have to unseal her mana to survive.

She ran down the working escalator - another sign that people had only recently left - and reached the bottom of the department building. The first floor was full of restaurants. Hearing voices, Emi quickly hid behind a stack of chairs.

"...never actually killed a Spirit." Two girls, dressed in the same combat gear as before, entered through the front entrance.

"Isn't that a good thing? Would you really be comfortable with killing a spirit?" The other girl asked.

"Of course. Those spirits cause the spatial quakes and kill countless people every time."

"But not all spirits are necessarily bad! Hermit doesn't cause trouble, and this one didn't hurt anyone."

"Just cause they're nice, doesn't mean-" Their backs were turned, and so Emi made a break for the exit. Silently as she could, she slipped out the door and into the streets.

Inside the building, the girls whirled around.

"Did you hear something?"

"I think so."

A pause.

"Must have been the wind or something."

* * *

It was raining.

It was something Emi had desperately hoped wouldn't happen, but knew it was only a matter of time.

Having nothing to identify herself with, Emi hadn't been able to find a job and had thus survived on the streets for the past week. She had added a hood to her jacket with a small amount of magic.

And wasn't that interesting. It was possible for Emi to open her core just a tiny bit to cast spells without people honing in on her and shooting her.

The hood has been a logical choice. Having escaped the fighting, Emi had been able to find a bathroom mirror to take in her appearance. With pale skin and long, light pink hair, she would've stood out and likely would've been mugged. The hood helped divert some attention.

Actually, some people _had_ tried to mug her, likely convinced by her small stature that she would be easy pickings, but she was sure that without the hood it would have become an even more commonplace event. At any rate, she was just scraping by. Stealing food from trash cans and swiping unfinished meals left behind at restaurants was her sustenance. She refused to steal any further than she had already.

Still, having only taken food, she had no shelter from the rain. Eventually, she sat inside a bus stop to take cover, watching as stores closed for the night as she tucked her legs up to preserve warmth.

"Hey there," It was a masculine voice, full of kindness. It reminded her of someone... someone who would also always be willing to lend a hand to others, and yet his name also escaped her tongue. "You alright?"

She looked up to see a blue-haired boy standing in front of her, his umbrella further helping block the rain. In his left hand was a bag of groceries.

"I'm fine," she snapped, sitting up straight. "Who are you?" From her experiences, most people who approached her either wanted to hurt her (the flying people and the muggers) or give her charity. At any rate, it didn't hurt to be careful.

"A-ah!" The boy backed up. "Sorry. I didn't mean to come off as creepy or anything. I was just wondering if you were ok, since you're out here in the rain and the buses don't run at this time."

And now he was making her feel bad. "No, no, you're ok. I shouldn't have snapped. I'm just waiting for my ride," she fibbed.

"I see." He tilted his head in thought. "Wait, do I know you from somewhere?"

"Probably not," was her calm reply. "I've never seen you before."

The boy looked thoughtful for a moment before he shrugged and pulled a receipt and a pen from his pocket, then scribbled a number and handed it to her. "Anyways, I live pretty close by. If you need any help, give me a call."

Emi took the number. "Thank you..."

"Ah! Sorry, I should've introduced myself." He gave a slight bow. "I'm Shido Itsuka. You can just call me Shido."

"Shido, huh..." Emi nodded, committing the name to memory. "Then you can just call me Emi."

"Alright then, Emi-chan. I hope your ride comes soon!" He began to leave.

"Thanks," Emi just smiled and waved to him. When he was out of sight, she pulled out the number.

"Call him, huh? I don't even have a phone." She curled up again, hugging her legs to her chest and listening to the droplets pelt the plastic cover above her.

Her eyelids were beginning to droop when she heard the sound of footsteps splashing in the rain. Looking up once again, she saw a little girl taking stepping through puddles. Her green rabbit hoodie hid her face, but couldn't hide her blue hair or the rabbit puppet on her left hand. Still, she appeared to be a normal girl, if outside a little late.

As she neared, however, Emi began to catch scent of a familiar scent. It was similar to her own, but different at the same time. While Emi smelled of steel, the girl before her smelled of water, bringing to mind pictures of calm, tranquil lakes. But there was something that was the same, something that Emi instinctively knew was the scent of mana. The mana didn't just flow off the girl, but also off her clothes.

"Hey," she called out. The girl froze in place, likely out of fear, so Emi decided not to get any closer. Instead, she stayed standing underneath the bus stop. "Are you-"

"Don't tell me you're here to bully Yoshinon too!" A childish voice came from the puppet, prompting Emi to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Bully...? Are you talking about the flying people? Did they attack you too?"

"Us too?! You say that like you've also been bullied by them!"

"Yes... I have. I wanted to know if you were like me," Emi confessed. "Did you also wake up without knowing where you were?"

"Woah, woah, woah, missy. We don't even know each other!"

"My bad," Emi gave a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of her head. "I should've introduced myself. I'm Emi."

"The name's Yoshinon, and you better remember it!" The puppet waved its little arms around.

"Understood. Then what about yours?" Emi asked, addressing the girl this time.

"...I'm Yoshino..." came the quiet voice from the girl.

"I see," Emi nodded, ignoring the the fact that the girl and the doll called themselves different names. For all she knew, the doll could be alive, considering that magic was involved. "I've only been around for a week. Do you mind explaining everything to your junior here?

"Yesiree! Yoshinon doesn't mind at all!" With that, Yoshino took tentative steps towards Emi, before settling on the bench next to her.

"Where do you want to start?" the puppet chirped.

"Let's start with what we are," Emi responded, "Considering that we smell like magic, and I've never seen the humans smell like magic, I don't think we're human."

"You would be right!" Yoshinon said, "We are spirits!"

"Spirits?"

"Spirits!"

"Spirits."

"Spirits."

"No... explanation?" Emi tried.

"Oh, I thought you already knew what spirits were," Yoshinon chuckled, "I mean, Yoshino just woke up knowing she was a spirit."

"Well, I didn't wake up knowing anything," Emi sighed.

"In that case, lil' sis Yoshinon is going to teach ya!" Yoshinon leaned closer, "Spirits are amazing beings like us! We make spirit energy, which we can then use to make all kinds of things happen! For example, Yoshino can control water and ice!" The puppet nudged the puppet master. "Why don't you let our new friend see?"

Wordlessly, Yoshino raised her other hand. The rain changed directions, gathering above her palm and freezing together in the shape of a crystal.

"See! Isn't our power the coolest?!" Yoshinon cheered, "Yoshino can even makes it rain!"

"Can make it rain?" Emi glanced up at the dark clouds above them.

"...Don't like," came the quiet voice behind the hood, "...Can't control it." The hood slipped back a little as the little girl gazed up at the sky. "...Want... to see the sun..."

Emi had a completely understandable urge to protect the little cinnamon roll sitting beside her.

"You'll see the sun eventually," she said as she patted Yoshino on the head. "In fact, I managed to control my spirit powers. I could try teaching you to control your powers."

"Y-You could?!" For once, Yoshino herself seemed excited before she flinched and looked away. "A-Ah, I mean... I would... like that?"

"Then I'll give it a shot," Emi flashed her a smile, "Though could you tell me a bit more about spirits? Like, how much water can you control?"

She really did intend to teach this little girl to control her power. Power without control was dangerous, both for the owner of the power and for the people around them. But she also still needed information.

"If Yoshino tried, she could cover the whole city in frost!" Yoshinon proudly proclaimed. "But of course, we spirits can also use our spirit energy to fly. And if we push our spirit energy into the world, we can make big explosions. The humans call them spacequakes."

Once again, Yoshino raised her hand. As Emi watched, a purple sphere appeared for a brief moment, before it imploded with a loud crack.

"Huh."

"And if we're in _really_ big trouble, Yoshino can even call her Angel!"

"Angel?" Weren't angels from the bible?

"Yeah! Angels are these really cool super-weapons! Yoshino's is a giant ice rabbit named Zadkiel!"

"I see. So it doesn't have anything to with the bible?" Emi asked.

"What's the bible?"

"Ah... never mind." If Yoshinon didn't know what the bible was, an Angel's appearance and abilities probably didn't have anything to do with the name. But who named the Angels? It couldn't be a coincidence that they just happened to be named after biblical angels, could it?

"Okay!" Yoshinon continued as if it hadn't been interrupted, "Spirits only appear for a short amount of time before they return to where we come from."

"Spirits go somewhere?"

Yoshinon nodded. "Usually, spirits stay for a while before we get drawn back to wherever we come from. It feels like falling asleep."

"But then..." Emi frowned. "Why am I still here?"

"The reason you're still here's probably because you're controlling your spirit nature! I think." Yoshinon said. "Yoshino can hide her spirit nature, but she can't control it."

"...That's why...I want to learn..." came the soft-spoken girl's voice again, "I don't want...to hurt people."

Emi smiled. "I understand. You're not alone, Yoshino, Yoshinon. I'll do my best to teach you."

Yoshino smiled back.


	2. Lonely Yoshino 2

**AN: Most of my knowledge from Date A Live is from the anime. I'm very far behind on the LN for Date a Live (like... volume 3?). Elements from both will be used, and I'll be reading the LN as I go.**

**As a side note, Emi does have an angel, not one of the Sephiroth (because those are all taken). And no, it's not Unlimited Blade Works.**

**Responses:**

**Instead of making my responses tailored to individual reviewers, I'll make this section just announcements that will hopefully answer your questions.**

**For those of you who haven't seen Heaven's Failure, Emi is Emiya+Illya+a little bit of Archer. There's no Chloe or Archerko. Yuri, begone! Hugs are perfectly acceptable, though.**

**Though Emi has UBW, she does not have (nor will she gain) the ability to overwrite the world.**

**I consider Angels to be equal to some of the stronger Noble Phantasms. Yoshino freezes the whole city in the LN, and there aren't that many Noble Phantasms with that much range. Then there's Sandalphon, which can shoot down satellites.**

**Emi is one of the stronger spirits, posing a significant chance in combat against all others except the Yamai twins, who are a bad match-up for her. Her natural stats are Archer-level, but she can reinforce herself to extreme heights. Only the Yamai twins can surpass her speed, and only Tohka can match her strength. Her mana increased due to becoming a spirit. She has the finest control over that mana. Of course, this all excludes Mio.**

* * *

"Emi-chan, are you sure this is how you do it?"

"Yes." Emi withheld a sigh, instead offering an encouraging smile.

"But it's not working!" Yoshinon wailed, his little paws flapping about, "We've been at this for hours!"

This was their fourth time meeting. The two had chosen to sit on a bench in a park. The park was empty, due to the rain that often accompanied Yoshino, which was why Emi felt perfectly fine discussing magic in a public setting.

She was still alert, though. Just to be safe.

Emi hummed in thought. "I don't understand what's wrong. I haven't even started teaching you how to seal your spirit nature. I'm just trying to teach you how to move your spirit energy around."

"But it's not moving!"

Emi let out another sigh. Apparently, Yoshino was completely unable to seal her spirit powers. It wasn't as if she had no talent - she had learned to feel mana in seconds, and could see magical energy in the air. Honestly, Emi had been surprised at her speed. Yoshino had spent some time just feeling her mana core beat and observing the world.

But then when it came to dampening the pulse from her core, Yoshino couldn't do it. In fact, it seemed she couldn't move spirit energy around her body at all, only outward into water and ice.

It seemed as if her magical core was forcing the spirit energy to move in certain directions. For Yoshino, trying to move spirit energy on her own was like trying to swim upstream. Her core just refused to stop working, unlike Emi, who could force her core to slow down.

"...Emi?..." Yoshino's own soft voice came out. "Are you mad at me?"

"Not at all," she replied, giving the blue-haired girl a pat on the head.

And then Yoshino and Yoshinon disappeared.

Not again.

* * *

Although both Yoshino and Emi could hide their mana readings, only Emi could fully seal her spirit nature.

Still, Emi had learned a lot from her senior spirit. Apparently, all spirits could fly, and Emi had picked that up from the little girl.

Spirits also didn't need to eat, though they still felt hunger. While that was nice to know, Emi wasn't sure if that still applied to her with her spirit abilities sealed, and she certainly wasn't going to test it.

That was what led her to her current situation.

"Hey, you!"

Emi flinched at being caught swiping food from another table. She'd been sure there was no one else eating outside. Slowly, she turned.

The speaker was a tall man with black hair. With the sun behind his back, casting shadows over her face, he looked downright intimidating.

"I've seen you taking food off our tables for a while." He leaned over her, casting Emi in his shadow. "Any reason you can't pay for an real meal?"

Emi gulped.

"A-ah, um, well..." she slumped, "I don't have any money."

He eyed her for a moment, then grabbed her arm. "Come with me."

He dragged her into the restaurant, flipping the sign to "closed." Emi noticed that there were no customers inside either - had she really been eating that late?He continued to take her to the back of the restaurant and into an office behind the counter.

The office was rather plain. A desk sat in the middle of the room, with two chairs on either side. The desk itself held little, only a pen holder, a small stand-up picture frame that faced away from the door, and a few papers. Next to it was a table with a much larger stack of papers. Otherwise, the room was completely empty. A black haired woman dressed in a business suit looked up from her place at the desk.

"You actually brought her in." She shot him a grin.

The man just shrugged. "It was your suggestion."

Then as one they turned to face Emi. The woman moved some papers aside to give Emi her undivided attention.

Emi fidgeted. "So... why am I here?"

"We wanted to know why such a young, adorable girl like you was taking food off of others' tables." The woman folded her arms. "And why we've never seen you come with parents."

"I don't have parents," Emi stated, "I live at a homeless shelter." That was a lie. The shelters often didn't have space for everyone, so she didn't try to get in. If she were to take a spot, that was a spoke taken from someone else in need.

The two adults shared a look. "Can we have your name?" the woman then asked.

"Just Emi."

"No last name?"

"No."

The woman sighed. "Well then, Emi, how old are you?"

Emi blinked in surprise. "Um... Seventeen?"

"How would you like to work in this restaurant?"

"Huh?" Emi's eyes widened. "Why?"

"Well, I know we may not be living in the lap of luxury or anything, but we-"

"No," Emi cut in, "Why are you offering something like that?"

"Why not?" she smirked. "You look like someone who could use the job."

Emi sighed. "Alright. But I've given my name, and you haven't given yours."

"Oh! That's my bad! I'm Honoka Watanabe. This is my husband-"

"Tatsuki Watanabe."

* * *

She was serving tables at the restaurant when she experienced a spatial quake for herself.

The first thing that she heard were the alarms.

"Warning. There have been signs of an impending spatial quake. Please evacuate to the nearest shelter."

Emi blinked in surprise as the whole restaurant exploded into uproar, people grabbing coats and phones and rushing to the door. Being lunch time, the place was rather full.

"Emi-chan!" she heard Ms. Watanabe's voice over the din, "Come on out! We have to leave to the shelter!" She was standing by the door, but the moving crowd was slowly pushing her out. Mr. Watanabe held the door open for everyone.

"Coming!" She called back. She made her way through the mob to her parents. "I'm here!"

"Let's go then," Ms. Watanabe smiled, "My husband is going to stay a little longer to lock up the shop, but he'll be right behind us."

"Ok," Emi said obediently. She followed Ms. Watanabe towards their nearest shelter, an underground bunker.

And then it began to rain.

_'There was a 5% chance of rain in the forecast... could it be?'_

Last time, Yoshino had vanished into thin air. Knowing that was the norm for spirits, Emi wasn't too concerned. She would've liked to keep talking with her though.

She continued to follow Ms. Watanabe, letting her lead her to the shelter before making her move. She slipped away from her place by Ms. Watanabe's side, making it appear as if the crowd had separated them.

"Emi? Emi!"

But Emi was already hidden in the crowd, her small stature working to her benefit as she began making her way out. She would have left the crowd earlier, but not wanting the Watanabes to worry, she had made sure to leave near the shelter so that they would believe she would make her way there on her own.

Of course, Emi had no intention of hiding from the quake. This was a chance to see Yoshino and Yoshinon again.

Managing to escape, followed her nose. Despite the rain washing away the earthly smells, there was still the scent of magic in the air. After some time, the roads became deserted, making it easier for her to run. Her nose finally led her to a shopping district where she stopped right in front of an intersection.

_'Is this it?'_ She confirmed that the smell was strongest there, but there wasn't anyone around.

Then the world exploded, and Emi broke her seal binding her spirit powers. Mana pumped throughout her body, reinforcing her even as she surrounded herself in a bunker of swords.

When the noise died down, Emi dismissed the swords. Standing up, she spotted a small figure amidst the dust. "Yoshino?"

"Emi?" Yoshino responded.

"Hey, it's the spirit in disguise! How've you been?" her puppet called, "Yoshino was worried if you'd do ok!"

"You were?"

Yoshino only hid her face behind her hood in embarrassment.

"Don't worry," Emi said, patting Yoshino on the head, "If worst came to worst, I would've just unsealed my spirit powers until I returned to sleep. Besides, I'm doing great. Let's stop worrying, alright? We'll just need to find someplace to have-"

"Two spirits detected. Hermit and Blacksmith." Up above the pair, their assailants began to assemble.

"Roger. Engaging."

Their attackers began to fire at the two. Both of them avoided, with Yoshino flying away.

Emi, too began to leave, following Yoshino, this time flying as well. Good thing she figured that out.

A volley of bullets bullets flew around them, deflecting off Emi's reinforced clothes and Yoshino's raincoat. As they turned around the corner of a skyscraper, Emi caught a glimpse of a large sniper rifle held in one of their attackers' hands.

"Yoshino, dodge!" Yoshino turned, just in time to see the sniper go off with a bang, narrowly missing Emi's hand and instead striking Yoshino on the shoulder. Though failing to draw blood, it sent Yoshino spiraling into a large building.

If Emi hadn't been so concerned for her friend, she might've clapped her hands at the amazing display of marksmanship.

She dove after her friend, sealing the hole Yoshino's crash made with blades. She could see the flying people waiting outside, likely waiting for them to exit the building to minimize damage. Whatever the reason, Emi took the opportunity to check on her friend.

"Yoshino! Yoshino, are you alright?" Her crash had sent her into a few rows of stands. The impact had knocked the stands over like dominoes, but Yoshino was already sitting up, her right hand rubbing the back of her head. The puppet on her left hand turned to face Emi.

"Yoshino's just fine and dandy!" the puppet proclaimed, "See! Not a scratch!" Emi moved to check her Yoshino's shoulder, and indeed, there was not a mark.

"It just caught you by surprise, huh? That's good, I was worried."

Yoshinon piped up. "Well, lets get moving then! The bullies aren't going to leave on their own, y'know!"

Emi rubbed the bridge of her nose as she stood. "They're probably trying to surround this building right now." She helped Yoshino up as well. "Let's see if there are any back doors or alley-facing windows we can use to escape. There's got to be something, with a building this big." She glanced back at the wall they had come through. "These windows definitely won't work." The figures of the flying people were easily visible.

"Come on, Yoshino," she said when Yoshino didn't move. She beckoned to the door. "We can't stay here forever. The people outside will eventually get tired of waiting."

"Alright, we're coming!" Yoshinon responded. They stepped out of the room into a hallway. Up ahead were shops, many with their lights off, and a large open area.

"Looks like a mall." Emi commented as the two ventured forward. "A place like this definitely should have many exits." They reached the open space, which turned out to be a hole in the ground, giving a view of the many floors of the building. She turned to Yoshino. "Do you want to split up and look or stay-"

"Hey there!"

Both of them jumped a mile before frantically looking for the culprit. It was Yoshino who tapped Emi on the shoulder and pointed out a blue haired boy on the floor below them. As they watched, he made his way to the stairs.

Emi recognized the boy. "Shido?"

Yoshino gently tugged on Emi's coat, causing her to glance back at her. "...let's go..."

"You want to run away from him?" At Yoshino's nod, Emi frowned. "But the flying people are outside. We're stuck in here until we find a way to sneak out."

Yoshino made a motion with her hand vaguely resembling... and airplane?

"What Yoshino means is that she wants to just fly through them," Yoshinon helpfully translated. Then she turned to her owner. "Which, by the way, is kinda silly. You could crash into someone! That'd leave both of you in a world of pain!"

"I'm pretty sure if she can take sniper fire, crashing into a person is the least of her worries" Emi deadpanned.

"That may be so for a normal person, but who knows if they have those force field thingies?" Yoshinon argued back, waving her tiny paws for emphasis. "Y'know, the ones that are green and look super fancy!"

Emi, however, was left confused. "Force field thingies?"

"What, never seen them before?"

Emi paused for a moment. "The green barriers?"

"Hey!" It seemed they had spent too much time talking, because Shido Itsuka had caught up to them.

"Woah, woah, woah! Who are you?" Yoshinon asked, pointing a paw at the newcomer. "Oh, wait! You're the lecher onii-san from before!"

"Eh?" Emi's eyes widened in surprise, as she glanced between Yoshinon and Shido. "I never knew you were that kind of person, Shido." Emi then scrutinized him. "You look pretty normal to me. I guess looks can be deceiving."

"That-" he froze, leaving Yoshino and Emi exchanged confused looks as to why the strange boy had suddenly stopped. Finally, he continued. "I don't know what you're talking about," he flipped his hair back, though it did nothing to straighten it out, "I'm just a wandering vagabond."

Awkward silence.

Suddenly, Yoshinon began laughing. "No one talks like that! You're funny. Emi, Yoshino, this guy's funny."

"Emi?" Shido's eyes turned to look at her.

Emi faked a smile. "Nice to meet you again, Shido. I guess you didn't recognize me. I did have my hood up back then."

"Yeah..."

Yoshino just glanced back and forth between the two of them, before raising her left arm with Yoshinon on it. "Aw, do you two know each other? Long lost lovers, perhaps?"

"What?!" Emi yelped and waved her hands in denial just as Shido began spluttering out protests. "It's not like that at all! We only met once, and for less than two minutes."

"Yeah," Shido added, "It was just one time, and all we did was talk."

"Hmm..." The puppet scrutinized them, but left it at that.

"By the way," Shido turned to Yoshino, "We both know Emi's name, and my name is Shido's. What's yours?"

"Oh! How could I forget?" the puppet did a twirl - and Emi wondered how a puppet fixed to someone's hand could _twirl_, but dismissed the thought, "My name is Yoshinon! Cute, isn't it?" cheered the puppet.

Shido chuckled. "Yeah, it's really cute. Is that your name? Or the puppet's name? Do you share a name?"

Emi facepalmed. Before her, Shido began whispering seemingly to himself.

"I just wanted to know why she only talks through ventriloquism," he muttered quietly, though both Emi and Yoshino heard him.

"...What is this ventriloquism?" Yoshinon's eyes gained a demonic gleam, something of which even a harem protagonist wouldn't be dense enough to ignore. Emi was impressed.

"I-I get it," Shido forced a smile, "Yoshinon is just Yoshinon, isn't she?"

"Oh Shido," Yoshinon put her hands together, "You must be the kind of person who jokes around a lot. Why did you come here?"

"Err, well..." his eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. He took a deep breath to prepare himself. "I came here to ask... I mean..." He shook his head and composed himself. "Let's go on a date!"

"Ok!"

"Of course not!"

Emi and Yoshino turned to each other.

"This guy's funny!" Yoshinon explained, "It would be nice to walk and talk with them, wouldn't it?"

"Wait," Emi raised her hands in a 'slow down' motion, "I think we have slightly different ideas of what is a date. Dating _is _supposed to be only done with your significant other, right?"

"Significant other?" Yoshinon asked, "I'm pretty sure dating is just to get to know someone better. Like a beta test! You only marry your significant other."

"Hmm... People who date break up all the time, so I guess that makes sense. Sort of," Emi nodded, tapping her chin in thought, "But I've never heard of someone dating two people at once."

"Huh, that's right," the puppet brought a paw up to face as if in thought, "Seems a little insincere, doesn't it? Besides, if you were happy on the date, how do you tell which person it was that made you happier? Who do you pick to be your significant other?"

Emi shrugged. "Eenie meenie minie moe? I'm not a love expert." She gave Shido a scrutinizing gaze. "Either way, this guy's scary. Asking two girls out who look much younger than himself... is he a lolicon?"

"I'm not!" Shido cried, before taking another breath to calm down. "It doesn't have to be a date," Shido backtracked, "We can just hang out if it bothers you two that much. Like friends."

"...friend?..."

"Yoshinon was ok with it to begin with!"

Emi let out a sigh. "Sure. I guess we'll just be wandering this deserted mall with scary people with guns and jetpacks waiting outside to shoot us. The perfect environment for some friendly bonding."

Shido awkwardly laughed.

* * *

The three were in the mall's food court, standing before a place called "Super Soups" - honestly, Shido found the name cringey and would have been incredibly embarrassed if he had to work there. Emi had seen the place and ordered Yoshino and Shido to stop while she went in. Now Shido knew why.

"An order of three wonton bowls, coming up!" Emi called cheerily from behind the cash register, bringing out a tray with the three meals on it. She looked much happier and relaxed in an apron and chef's hat than before. Shido, however, was less enthusiastic..

"You can cook?" He asked in disbelief. Didn't spirits just go to sleep when not in this world? He hoped that Emi's cooking wasn't going to poison them at least. That would definitely be bad, both for the positive relationship beginning to form between them and for his vulnerable stomach. He shook his head to dislodge the thought. "Wait, no, more importantly, isn't that stealing?"

"Emi," Yoshino whispered, "...give back..."

"Maybe Emi's going through her rebellious phase right now," supplied Yoshinon, "And she won't be satisfied unless she breaks the rules at least-"

"It's nothing like that," Emi protested. She then leveled a pout towards Yoshinon. "I left some money to make up for the ingredients."

"Ohoho, so Emi's actually a little angel who can't help -"

"It's nothing of the sort!"

Shido chuckled. "You really like teasing people, don't you, Yoshinon?" Shido commented.

"It's Emi's fault for making it so easy!" the puppet sang, "If she doesn't want to be teased she should stop giving such wonderful reactions!" This elicited grumbles from the pink haired girl.

The three found a seat at a small table. Emi passed each of them their bowl before sitting next to Yoshino.

"Itadakimasu," Emi and Shido both murmured before they began to eat. Yoshino, who had only noticed what they did after she had picked up her spoon, quickly dropped it.

"Itadakimasu!" chirped Yoshinon, followed by a softer "...Itadakimasu" from Yoshino. They then moved to begin to eat, only to realize Shido had frozen in place.

"This is amazing..." Shido whispered, who had began to look back at forth between the bowl in front of him and its cook. It tasted better than his own cooking. While Shido knew he wasn't on the level of a professional cook or anything, Emi's dish completely shattered what pride he had in that regard. "Emi, where'd you learn this?" He began to quickly scarf down the rest of the meal, even if he was crying on the inside. He wanted to be this good too!

"Slow down or you'll choke," Emi commented with a wry smile, "I just followed their recipe and made a few changes."

Before Shido could argue that obviously wasn't the case, Kotori cut in over the earpiece. _'Shido! Don't let yourself get distracted by the food. Focus on the mission. You're supposed to make them fall for you; it'll be much harder if you fall for them first."_

_"I wasn't about to fall for either of them!" _he hissed back.

Across the table, Yoshino also took a bite. Immediately, her mouth was assaulted by an amazing taste pork with a hint of garlic mixed with the flavor of the soup.

"Do you like it?" Emi asked, noticing Yoshino had paused as well. Yoshino only responded with an enthusiastic nod and thumbs up before following Shido's suit.

Emi smiled. "That makes me happy then."

But while Yoshino was preoccupied by her food, Yoshinon was not. "Mama Emi," the puppet whispered conspiratorially, drawing another bout of protests and splutters from the girl whose pink cheeks was beginning to match her hair.

In a few minutes, they were wandering the mall again.

"This 'hang out' has been lots of fun!" said Yoshinon as she swung her paws back and forth. "Yoshinon would love it if we could do this again!"

Emi patted Yoshinon on the head. "Of course we'll do it again," she agreed, "I'll keep an eye out for you whenever it's raining, ok?"

"I will too." Shido added, "I'm glad you're having fun."

"Yay! Emi and Shido are the bestest!" Yoshino cheered. Almost immediately after, something else caught her eye. "Oh, what's that?!" And off Yoshino and Yoshinon went.

"Wait!" Shido called, "I wish I had the same energy she did..."

Emi laughed. "You're growing old, Shido-kun!" she teased before she sped up her walking, leaving Shido behind. "C'mon! Yoshino's getting away!"

"Wait!" Shido called again, though neither of them did. He sighed. Seriously, what did he expect?

As it turned out, the thing that had caught Yoshinon's attention was a jungle gym. Already, Yoshino was climbing it, showing off remarkable dexterity with only one hand.

Shido gave a small smile at her innocent energy, before he noticed Emi was standing by his side. "Do you want to give it a shot?"

She shook her head. "Nah," she replied, watching Yoshino, "The jungle gym-"

She paused.

"Emi?"

_"Woah,"_ came Kotori's voice, _"Her anxiety levels just-"_

"-doesn't interest me," she finished, snapping out of her daze. She glanced up at Shido, only to find him staring at her.

_"-skyrocketed. They've dropped." _

"What is it?" Emi asked. Shido realized his stare was probably making her uncomfortable, so he shook his head slightly and opened his mouth to speak.

"It's nothing. You froze for a moment, so I was a little concerned."

"Ah." Emi said. She would've been more convincing if she eyes weren't still darting around as if looking for a threat. "It's nothing."

"If something's troubling you, Emi, I'll always lend you an ear."

Emi let out a soft smile for a brief moment, before it morphed into smirk. "Is that supposed to be a pick-up line of some kind? Are you sure you aren't considering this as a date?"

"N-no!" Shido denied, "I'm just, uh, trying to help! There's no ulterior motive-"

"Thanks anyways for the offer." This time, she gave him a sincere smile. "Unfortunately for you, my problems will remain mine and mine alone."

_"Well, at least the two of you have a good relationship already. If you kissed, you might be able to seal Blacksmith's spirit powers... but she probably doesn't feel close enough to you to let you do that."_

Shido opened his mouth to reply to Emi, only to be interrupted by a new voice.

"Shiiiiidoooooo!" A dark haired girl in a school uniform appeared, running straight towards the three of them.

"Tohka?"

This was not good. Shido was certain that Tohka would not take him kissing anyone lightly, which would mean that this mission was already close to doomed.

"Shido!" Tohka cried, "What are you doing out here? The alarm went off, so shouldn't we be in a shelter?"

At that moment, Yoshinon yelled "Watch out!" and Tohka and Shido were bowled over as Yoshino lost her balance and fell on them.

They disentangled themselves. Yoshino hid from the new arrival behind Emi.

Tohka stepped forward to interrogate Yoshino. She glared at the two. "Who are you?" Tohka asked, "Why are you here with Shido?"

"Aww, is the little princess upset?" Yoshinon asked, covering for Yoshino, "Yoshinon wonders why!"

"Grr... that's none of your business! What I want to know is why Shido was here with you three!"

"That's because-" Shido tried to explain, but he was cut off by Yoshinon.

"I see, the little princess missed her dashing knight! What's the matter? Scared your knight in shining armor is going to be snatched away by the adorable Yoshinon?"

"Knight in shining armor? Snatched away? What are you talking about?" Evidently, Tohka was growing ever more agitated. Then her eyes widened and she froze. "No. It can't be. Shido, were you... going to leave me?"

_"Uh oh. Tohka's happiness levels are dropping fast! Do something Shido!"_

"I'd never leave you!" Shido replied, "How could you ever say that?"

"B-but..." she glanced between Yoshino, Yoshinon, and Emi by the wall, "You came out here to meet them... didn't you?"

"Well, that's cause..."

"Sorry miss, but it looks like mister knight is already smitten with Yoshinon's adorable looks!" the puppet teased, "You should go find another person to play your loyal protector!"

"Shut-"

"That was a little too far, Yoshinon." Finally, Emi stepped in, "Don't you think you should respect their relationship?"

"What are you talking about, Emi-chan? Yoshinon was just saying what it looked like to Yoshinon!"

"Maybe so, but there's often information we don't know, isn't that right, Shido?" All eyes turned to the only boy in the room. "While you may have been honest about coming out here to meet us-"

"What?!"

"-I'm fairly certain you had an ulterior motive for talking to us." Emi crossed her arms. "Who are you with? You've had that thing in your ear this whole time, and I'm certain its a communication device."

_"Go ahead, Shido. There's no way we can hide anything without being seen as even more suspicious."_

"Emi's very observant, huh," Shido sighed, "The cat's already out of the bag, so I guess I'll say everything. I'm with Ratatoskr. We're an organization that tries to stop spatial quakes by peaceful means. We're sort of the peaceful counterpart to the AST outside, which I think you've already had the misfortune of meeting."

"The flying people?" Emi asked, "It's finally nice to give them a name, at least."

"Yeah, well, their method is to attack spirits and try to kill them. Ratatoskr's preferred method is... erm... to have me date spirits, develop a good relationship with them, and then seal their powers away so that they can live among humans."

"Ah," Emi nodded, "So that's why you asked us out on a date. I was a little worried that I would be targeted by a lolicon, but you were just doing your duty."

"Shido?" Tohka asked, hair hanging low as she refused to look at Shido's eyes, "Does that mean... that our date wasn't real? You only did it because you were doing your job?"

"That's not true!" Shido cried, "I enjoyed our date too! Tohka," he placed his arms on her shoulders and looked straight into her eyes, "I chose to go on that date with you. I honestly had lots of fun with you, trying all the different kinds of food and playing those arcade games with you!

"Sh-Shido..."

"So please don't say something like the date wasn't real. I could never cast you out."

"Shido, I'm sorry that I doubted you. I just... I'm scared of losing you. You promised me that everything would ok, that you'd accept me, and... I'm scared of losing that acceptance."

"Tohka..."

Neither noticed Yoshino had sneaked away, nor that Emi had followed her.

At least, not until Kotori decided it was time to interrupt them.

_"Shido! Blacksmith and Hermit are leaving!"_

Shido froze. What to do? Chase after the two and potentially have Tohka revert back to her spirit form? Or appease Tohka now, and try again later with those two?

He refused. He was going to do both.

"Tohka," he continued, "I told you before, didn't I? If this world won't accept you, then I'll accept you even more. But," he looked down at his feet, "There are other spirits out there too. I can't sit by while the AST shoots and hurts them. I want to save them all - I can't help it. But, Tohka, I would be upset too if I made you sad. So please," he put his emotions into his next words, hoping that they would reach the girl before him, "I'm asking you. Will you let me go save them?"

"That's right..." Tohka murmured.

Shido raised his head to see her face.

"That's the Shido I fell for," she smiled tearily, "The selfless human that took a bullet for me, who risked his life to see me."

She hugged him tight.

"Go," she whispered into his ear, "I'll be right behind you."

* * *

Emi found Yoshino sitting crouched behind the counter of a jewelry store.

"Hey," she greeted as she sat down next to her. She tried to make eye contact with her friend, but Yoshino pulled her hood down so that only her mouth was visible. "What's wrong?" She tried again to see her face, but Yoshino pulled down the rabbit ears so that she was completely hidden from view. "Did that other girl bother you that much?"

"...No..."

Since she couldn't see Yoshino from within her raincoat, Emi watched Yoshinon instead. The puppet was strangely silent. _'Does Yoshinon feel that Yoshino has to talk for herself about her problem?'_

"Was it anything it do with Shido?"

No answer.

"Yoshino," Yoshinon said, "Emi's our friend too, right? You should say something to her."

"...I..."

Emi waited, but there didn't seem to be any follow-up. "Yoshino, you don't have to-"

There was a sniffle, and Emi stopped. "You're my friend... right?..." Yoshino whispered.

"Of course."

"...E-Emi...thank...you...Waaaah!" Yoshino hugged Emi, crying into her chest. "Waaaah!"

"Y-Yoshino?" Hesitantly, Emi held her close and softly rubbed her back.

"Feeling better?" she asked once Yoshino had calmed down. Yoshino nodded and separated from her, still rubbing her eyes.

"So what was that about?" Emi asked once they were seated next to each other again.

"...You're my friend," the words were quiet as usual, "My only friend other than Yoshinon... I don't have many friends."

"I see. You're happy that I became your friend," Emi realized, "but why did you run away from Tohka and Shido?"

"...Scared..."

"Scared?" Emi tilted her head in confusion. "Of what?"

"...Scared that I'll hurt them," she admitted, "I can't control..."

"You can't control your powers," Emi finished.

"Yes. Shido is... human... and I'm... I'm a spirit. It... it can't work. If something happened..."

"Seeing Tohka reminded you that other people would also be upset if something happened to Shido, huh?" Emi patted her on the head and gave her a smile. "You're such a kind girl, you know? I'm sure everything will work out fine."

"...B-but, I can't seal my powers... I can't control them at all..."

"Well, maybe we can help you with that." Shido and Tohka's faces appeared over the counter.

Immediately, Emi and Yoshino stood up, and Yoshinon began to speak again, "Eavesdropping, huh?" she teased, "Not too polite, is it?"

"I think it's warranted when someone's hurt and crying," Shido replied. He bent over so that his face was level with Yoshino's. "And Yoshinon, we don't care if you're a spirit. We're willing to be your friend anyways. I know you won't hurt us."

"...M-my name's Yoshino..."

"Yoshino? I thought you said-"

"I'm Yoshinon!" her puppet waved her paws.

"...I'm Yoshino..." she tried again, "Yoshinon's my friend..."

"Alright then. Yoshino. I don't care if you're a spirit. I'd still like to be your friend."

"B-but... my powers..."

"I can help you seal your power," Shido answered, "All you need to do is trust me. Do you trust me?"

"...Y-yes..." she whispered, "...yes, I trust you..."

"Thank you." Shido smiled, though he looked a little embarrassed. "We can seal your spirit power right now. To do so, we, well..." He scratched his cheek. "We have to kiss."

Two gasps could be heard. "B-but," Tohka whimpered, "I don't want-"

"No way," Emi gasped, "Is Shido really a loli-"

"What's a kiss?" Yoshino asked.

Everyone froze.

"Oh Yoshino," her puppet sang sweetly. "It's very simple. It's when-" she leaned close and began to whisper.

As soon as Yoshinon backed off, Yoshino turned back to Shido and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "L-Like that?" she asked, refusing to meet his eyes. Her breath caught in her throat when she realized her clothes were dissolving into specks of light. "Sh-Shido?"

"Shido really is a piece of work, isn't he?" laughed Yoshinon.

"It's not on purpose!" he cried. As soon as the sealing finished, Shido took off his blazer and wrapped it around Yoshino like a towel. "There. Sorry about your clothes disappearing."

"...It's gone," Yoshino muttered, staring at her hand in surprise. "It's really gone..." The sound of the rain pounding on the building also slowly ceased. Yoshino ran to the window.

"Emi?" Shido turned to to her. "Do you-"

"Nope, nope, nope!" she quickly denied. "I'm good, thank you very much for asking! I can do it myself! See?" And with a flash of light, she was back in her jacket, t-shirt, and trousers. "No kisses. Nu-uh. Absolutely refused."

Shido let out a breath of relief. "Thank goodness. It would have been weird to kiss another person right away. Wait, you can do that on your own?"

"Yep."

_'Well done, Shido. Mission complete; both spirit signals have disappeared. Return to the Fraxinus. Bring the spirits along. Especially that Blacksmith.'_

"Well then, do you all mind coming with me to meet Ratatoskr?"


	3. Lonely Yoshino 3

**AN: I'm going to slow down my releases. I can't keep up. T-T**

**I removed the "Sword Spirit" from the title because I realized that it sounds like there are other, same-universe works as this one. And there aren't. Cause this is a fanfic, and I don't wanna make another fic to go with this one.**

**While Emi does have all the noble phantasms Archer had, she will not necessarily use the same ones Archer used. It's a difference in character and preferences.**

**Also, to clarify. Emi is Shirou+some of Illya's habits+Archer's noble phantasms(from his arm). Archer himself actually contributes nothing to Emi's personality.**

**A hint for Emi's Angel - like Eden and Shekhinah, its name is not the name of an actual angel but of something still related to the Bible.**

**About what I said about Emi posing chance against everyone other than Mio and the Yamai, I have to retract that statement. I just found out about how over-powered Mukuro is. Yeah, Emi wouldn't like fighting her either.**

**Inverse Emi will be a little... weird in the head (but aren't they all?). Think EMIYA... but without a moral compass. If normal Emiya has a cracked moral compass, the inverse Emi broke hers in two over her knee and then fed it to her non-existent pet dog.**

**Reponses:**

**In the previous chapter, the dark lighting+jungle gym reminded Emi of the shadow.**

**Emi has a lot of noble phantasms. She just doesn't use, like, 99% of them cause they'd be too destructive in a city setting or simply haven't found a use yet.**

* * *

"Welcome aboard the Fraxinus," the pint-sized commander of the airship said, "My name Kotori Itsuka, and I'm the commander of this ship. And yes," she added, noticing Emi's raised eyebrow, "Shido is my brother."

Actually, Emi was going to ask why someone as young as her got an entire airship to herself, but she wasn't going to say that out loud _now_.

Kotori sat at her chair on the command deck, though she had swiveled away from the main screens to face the door where the new arrivals had entered through. Below the command deck was area with several seats, each with a screen before it, showing that the room was meant to be used by multiple people. At the moment, however, it was empty except for the five of them.

Yoshino, Emi, and Tohka had been guided to the room by Shido, who had given them a explanation of Ratatoskr's functions as well as his own role. Emi noticed that he avoided the subject of kissing. Rather big thing to be omitting, but then again, he was probably just a teenager and still embarrassed by such topics.

"Actually, I was going to ask why someone as young as you gets a ship, but thanks for clearing up that other question," Emi mumbled.

"The Fraxinus is one of the ships owned by Ratatoskr," Kotori continued, as if she hadn't heard Emi, "I'm sure Shido has explained this already, but we're an organization that works to peacefully settle humanity's conflicts with spirits by helping them integrate into human society. To this end, we have Shido seal away the power of spirits so that they don't receive attention from groups such as the AST. The Fraxinus's job is to oversee Shido and assist him."

"Hold up," Emi said, "How exactly does the Fraxinus fly? Cause I'm pretty sure we've been hovering in one place for some time. I'm pretty sure planes don't hover, and I didn't see any helicopter rotors.

"Obviously, we use magic." Kotori rolled her eyes - or at least began to, before remembering she was talking to a spirit wasn't sealed by Shido and could potentially wreck the ship from the inside out, "Remember the AST's flying gear? Their gear is too heavy to fly normally, so they employ weight reducing magic over it."

"I see..." Magic mixed with technology, huh? That's something Emi hadn't expected, though it certainly seemed to work. In fact, if both Ratatoskr and AST used magic and technology in tandem, then it seemed it was somewhat common. Mages here were more willing to keep up to date with the latest tech. Still...

"Since I haven't seen magic used in everyday life, the existence of magic must be a secret, right?"

"Yep," Kotori nodded, "Most humans can only use magic by using Realizers. Realizers and Spirits create Territories where magic can be used within. Due to the dangers of magic as well as the high cost of Realizers, the existence of both spirits and magic are kept a secret from the public, one that I ask you all keep."

As Emi was digesting this information, Shido stepped forward. "Umm, Kotori? Can we cut this short? Tohka and I still need to head to class, Yoshino still needs to be dressed in something other than my school blazer, and Yoshino and Emi both have health tests they need to take, so we probably get that all done."

"Alright. You're all dismissed, except Emi. I want to talk to you. Reine, help Yoshino find some clothes of her own, then I'll meet you in your office. Shido, take Tohka back to school before your teachers throw a fuss."

"Yes commander," acknowledged Reine, stepping forward.

"Um, are you sure...?" Shido glanced at Yoshino. Emi understood his hesitation. The young girl was shy and quiet by nature, and it likely would stress her out if she was isolated suddenly from anyone she knew.

"Fine, you and Tohka can accompany Yoshino. But once she's dressed, I expect you two to be back in class. We can't cover for your absences every other day."

"Alright," he agreed, "That seems fair."

"Oh, and Shido?" Kotori asked just as the four were about to leave. She had a sly grin on her face. "No peeking."

"P-peeking?" Shido yelped.

"Agreed," Reine turned to Shido, "Shin, when Yoshino is getting dressed, I want you to leave the room."

"R-Reine, you know I wouldn't-"

"It's a joke."

"Shido, what does Kotori mean by peeking?"

"Tohka, it's something like... um..." The four left the room through the sliding door, leaving Emi and Kotori at the command bridge.

"You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes," she clasped her hands, "You have to understand that you're an unique spirit. Ratatoskr usually has a spirit's power sealed first before we do anything to help them join society."

"But I can seal my spirit abilities on my own, so that's not needed."

"Technically speaking, that's true," Kotori nodded, before turning the chair around to the screens. Tapping a few controls, she displayed readings on the screens.

She pointed to a map being displayed. "This map shows any spirits in the city, using their spirit mana to detect them. As you can see, the Fraxinus can't detect any spirits, since you've all sealed your powers. This isn't the case for unsealed spirits, whom both the AST and us can track with our technology."

"So why do you sound like there's more to the story?" Emi asked.

Kotori sighed. "Unfortunately, certain higher-ups have expressed discontent with the idea of releasing a potentially dangerous spirit directly into public. Personally, I disagree with this line of thought, seeing as even sealed spirits have access to some of their powers and could be considered dangerous too, not to mention a spirit's stress can undo the seal. But what can I say? That's how big organizations work. I have to follow orders, even if they're conflicting."

"Conflicting?"

"Different people have different views," Kotori answered plainly, "And I have to juggle their requests at once. Trust me, it's no fun."

"Ah, I get it. But I've been wandering this world as a human for quite some time, and I haven't caused any issues. Wouldn't that also help to change your higher-up's minds?"

"You hid yourself too well during that time," Kotori replied with a wry smile, "We have little evidence of what you've been doing these past weeks. In fact, what little evidence we have of your activities comes from glimpses of you from our cameras, though every time you managed to blend in and were quickly lost."

"Huh," Emi brought a hand up to her chin in thought, "Alright, what are my options?"

"Straight to the point, huh? Good. Option one: you let Shido Itsuka seal your powers and receive Ratatoskr's support in living a normal life."

"By sealing, do you mean..."

"Yes, by kissing."

"Shido really brings new meaning to the saying 'sealed with a kiss,' huh." Emi muttered. "Second option?"

"We keep you here in the Fraxinus in a special holding room for spirits."

"...A holding room for spirits? Is that possible?" Emi frowned. If a place could trap a Spirit, she'd have to be on the look out not to be tricked into one.

"Well, not exactly," Kotori admitted, easing Emi's fears, "It's just a very well reinforced room that can contain a spirit long enough to begin evacuating the Fraxinus. Of course, we'd let you out, but only with supervision."

"Sounds a little dangerous for you," Emi noted. If she broke out, she could potentially take down the Fraxinus and endanger everyone on board. Of course, she wouldn't do it unless they proved themselves hostile first, but they had to have considered the possibility.

"We receive plenty of funding," Kotori said, "We're more concerned with the lives of people than about our own monetary loss. This ship has its own defenses, and even if it fell, it would be better than the death of thousands of people in the city."

"Lives of people over money? That's rather altruistic of you. Are you sure your higher-ups would be happy with you offering that option?"

"They really can't argue. One of our primary benefactors is friendly towards spirits and pushed for better treatment of all spirits. The guys up there won't dare upsetting him. If they take offense at me essentially offering you a room on the Fraxinus as he hears about it, they can kiss their job goodbye. They probably won't be fired, but likely demoted."

"Who is this mysterious benefactor?" Of course, Emi was interested. A man who supported all spirits and donated enough money to Ratatoskr to make ships like the Fraxinus an acceptable loss sounded too good to be true.

Kotori shrugged. "His name is Elliot Baldwin Woodman. He runs Asgard Electronics, though he used to work with the DEM. He was also one of the founders of Ratatoskr, though he gave up his leadership position a while back due to his own deteriorating health. I'm sure we can talk about him later, after you've made your choice and have settled down."

"Alright," Emi agreed, "Keep going, then."

Kotori raised three fingers. "So option one is that you get sealed and live a normal life," she said, ticking down a finger. "Option two is that you live on the Fraxinus where we can manage you," she brought down another finger. "Option three, and the last one, is that we form a mutually beneficial relationship. You'll support the Ratatoskr's missions in aiding Shido to stop spirits, and we'll provide you documentation and a place to live on the ground - the standard package we usually give spirits. Actually, we'd provide documents for you if you picked any of our options. Of course, you'll have to stay on the Fraxinus anyways until everything is set."

"Any of 'our' options?"

"Of course, you could come up with your own options. Like breaking out of here. But of course, you wouldn't receive any support from us in the future."

Options one and two were bad. Definitely bad. If her powers were sealed, that left little difference between herself and a random human on the street. Her ability was the only thing she could use - without it, how would she ever find any hints to her past? In fact, her ability itself was a clue - she was certain that she was once a human who had turned into a Spirit. But if her powers were sealed and she lived a normal life, she was certain she'd never find out what had happened to her.

Similar logic applied to being holed up on the Fraxinus. She wouldn't be able to head out and explore. She knew she would get antsy if she was held in one place, forced to watch events happen while unable to do anything herself. Ratatoskr likely would not let her leave to interfere if anything remotely remarkable were to happen.

Option three, however, was attractive - in fact, she suspected it had been offered after the two previous worse options on purpose. The only requirement was that she helped in Spirit-related missions, which she likely would have done anyways. In return, she received support from Ratatoskr.

Of course, breaking out was also a choice, but considering option three was like getting help for free, Emi would take up that option.

Still, she was going to see if she could get a little more out of their deal.

"I think I'll go with three," Emi concluded, "Though I do have one extra term I want to add."

"And that is?"

"I want your information on how spirits are born or made." Emi was certain she had once been human, so what better place to start than from however it was she had turned into a spirit?

"I don't have access to all of Ratatoskr's information," Kotori began, "But I can send a request for that information. It'll take a few weeks to process, however. I'll get to that once we're done here. Do we have a deal?"

"Sure," Emi agreed, "My support for yours."

* * *

"I'll take it that Emi's joining us," Reine commented as both Emi and Kotori stepped into her office.

'Office' was an exaggeration. A bed and small table with a computer occupied the back half of the room, while the side of the room closer to the door simply had a desk and several chairs placed randomly, as if a meeting had occurred and the room's occupant hadn't bothered to clean up.

Actually, now that Emi thought of it, that might actually be the case.

Yoshino and Reine were both seated at the side of the desk closer to the door, though both had turned when Emi and Kotori entered.

Yoshino had changed out of Shido's blazer and was now wearing a simple dress and sunhat. She brightened up immediately when she saw Emi, though she didn't say anything. Yoshinon gave her a wave, and Emi waved back.

"That's right. We've agreed to work together when dealing with spirits. Emi's going to need your help getting all the forms filled out, Reine," Kotori said as she unwrapped another lollipop.

"Hey there, Emi," Yoshinon said, "You sure took your sweet time with the commander girl."

"Sorry about that," Emi apologized, "I had a few questions for Kotori, so we ended up taking a while." She took a seat at the table.

"Anyways," Reine interrupted, "I need to ask you both a few basic questions in order to establish your backgrounds. Are you pure Spirits or human ones? That is, were you born a Spirit, or were you once a human?"

"I was once a human, though I don't remember much from when I was a human," Emi confessed.

"First memory... was as a Spirit..." Reine jotted the information down.

"Names?"

"Emi."

"Yoshino."

"...any last names?"

Both shook their heads, while Yoshinon made an x with her paws.

"I'll come up with something. Ages?"

"Th-thirteen." Yoshino managed.

"Seventeen."

Reine gave her a blank look. Then again, it could have just been her normal face, considering the only expression she ever seemed to have was sleep-deprived, but Emi was getting the feeling Reine didn't quite believe her.

"What's your real age?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm seventeen," Emi repeated, "I can't remember much, but I'm certain I'm at least older than fifteen."

"...I'll write thirteen, like Yoshino," Reine murmured.

"Hey!"

"Emi-chan," Reine said seriously, "I understand it's common for children to want to be older than they actually are, but we need your honest answer."

"But that _is _my honest answer!"

"Thirteen it is."

"I'm not thirteen!"

"But you refuse to give your true age."

"At least make me older than fifteen!"

"Why?"

"I have a job and everything! If I'm not at least fifteen, my employers could be arrested for child labor!"

Reine blinked, then picked up a phone. "Hello? Police? Yes, I uncovered a case of child labor. Address? Ah, right. Emi, where do you wo-"

"No!" She smacked the phone hard enough that it flew out of Reine's hands and hit a wall with a satisfying thud.

"I'll leave you three at it," Kotori smirked and left.

"No! Back me up, you traitor!" Emi cried, before pointing a finger at Reine, "And you! Stop making this harder than it has to be! I'm mature enough to handle a job, thank you very much!"

"You really aren't acting like you're fifteen right now, you know."

Emi let out a noise that was somewhere between a scream of rage and a sob of frustration.

For whatever reason, she had an impulse to scream 'Berserker!'

Reine passively looked on as Emi calmed herself. Yoshino looked a little worried. "I definitely remember being in high school." Emi finally said, "That means I was either older than fifteen, or I skipped a grade or something of that sort."

Reine let out a noise of acknowledgement. "Fine. Fifteen for you, I suppose. Birthday?"

"Don't remember." Emi shrugged.

Yoshino shook her head.

"We'll come up with one for each of you," Reine sighed before standing from her desk, "Now, follow me. We need to give you two a health check."

Emi and Yoshino followed her out.

"A health check?" Yoshinon asked, tilting her head, "What kind of health check? Are there_...needles?" _The puppet shivered, as if it was the one going to be subjected to them.

"We're going to make sure you two aren't sick and take your measurements," Reine answered, "And sorry, there will be needles. We'll also be giving you vaccinations."

"Sh-shots?" Yoshino whimpered.

Reine patted them both on the head - wait, why was Emi being petted as well? She wasn't a little kid! "Unfortunately, yes. You're going to need to have shots to make sure you don't get sick, ok?"

Yoshino nodded, but she still seemed afraid. On the other hand, Emi crossed her arms. "I refuse."

Reine gave her a look. "Not acting fifteen."

"It's not a matter of not wanting to get shots, it's a matter of letting people I've just met today inject substances into my blood."

"Emi, you need shots."

"No, I don't. I've lived on the streets for weeks without getting sick; the shots are unnecessary. Even if I needed them, I wouldn't trust you guys to give me them."

"Then who would you trust?" Reine asked, "It's not as if you know a lot of people."

"There's still the whole 'I don't need shots' thing." Emi certainly was not going to let these people put whatever they wanted into her bloodstream, regardless of how childish she seemed.

"Emi, Yoshino has to do it. It's not fair to her. Do it for her sake," Reine said, trying to guilt trip Emi.

Emi's eye twitched. The two of them began a stare-off while Yoshino looked on nervously.

"Fine," Emi grumbled. She could just scan everything with Structural Grasp to make sure they weren't adding anything meant to harm her, after all. Yes, she was going to scan every syringe they brought near her.

"We're here," Reine said, stopping before a door with plus sign on it. She knocked. "Rindou. Please open up."

"Coming!" a voice answered. The door slid open to reveal a young woman dressed in a white coat. Her brown hair was messy, her bangs framing her glasses-covered face.

"Ah, Reine. To what do I owe this pleasure?" she asked, "Do these little ones need a check-up?"

"I'm not little," Emi grumbled. Yoshinon giggled, while Yoshino let loose a small cute smile.

Emi was definitely going to make Yoshino smile like that again in the future.

"These two are Spirits," Reine answered, "And yes, they need a check up."

"Alright! I'm Rindou Sato, and I'll be giving you two your medical examinations. Please, first, each of you stand on the scale..."

* * *

"Both of you are in good health. Emi, in particular, is extraordinarily healthy for a pre-teen.

"I'm a teenager!"

"Really? Are you thirteen? Maybe fourteen?

"Neither!"

"You must be a late bloomer then..."

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?"

* * *

"We're finally done!" Emi cheered as Reine, Yoshino and herself left Reine's office.

"Rindou was really surprised that you were fifteen," Yoshinon laughed, "Making you take all those extra tests to make sure you were just a late bloomer and that there wasn't anything wrong."

"Yeah. I hadn't realized a health check would be such a hassle." Emi cried on the inside. She'd been forced to make many more tests to ensure she didn't have a growth problem.

"I apologize for the trouble caused," Reine said.

"You really don't look even fifteen, though," Yoshinon raised a paw to her mouth, "You really do look like a ten year old, with how short you are. You're even less developed than Yoshino here!"

Yoshino blushed at Yoshinon's words, but managed to get out a question regardless. "Um... are you... really older than me?"

"Yep," Emi let out a sigh.

The three kept walking a little farther before Reine stopped.

"We're here," she pointed to two handle-less doors in front of her, each with a keypad next to the door, "These two rooms will be yours until we prepare your accommodations on the ground. These are the codes to your rooms," she handed them each a piece of paper, "Try the codes now to see if they work."

Emi looked down at the piece of paper. It read 'Room 202' and under that, 'Code:1171.' Room 202 was the door on the left, so Emi entered the code and the door slid open with a quiet 'swish' sound. Next to her, Yoshino also successfully opened her door.

"With that, I'll leave you two to get used to your rooms. See you around," Reine said, "If you need help, each room has a cell phone with the command deck's number in the contacts list."

"Thank you, Reine-san."

"Thank you, aleepy lady!" Yoshinon followed Emi's suit.

"You're welcome," Reine replied, then left.

Emi entered her room and was pleasantly surprised. There was a fairly large bed, as well as a TV. There was also a small kitchen in the corner and a table with six seats around it. To the left door was also a bathroom.

"Home sweet temporary home," Emi muttered. Though she desperately wanted to lay on the bed and feel the comfort of actual sheets for the first time in forever, she wondered whether Yoshino had the same room as her. Also, how was she holding up with all the changes? So instead of giving in, she headed back outside.

Yoshino's door was closed - the doors closed automatically, it seemed, as Emi's also closed behind her. Fortunately, the paper with her code was still in her hand, so she wasn't locked out.

She gave a knock on Yoshino's door. "Yoshino? It's Emi, can I come in?" she called.

The slid open.

"Emi?" Yoshino's face peeked out. "O-oh, come in..."

As Emi entered, she noted that Yoshino's room was a reflection of her own. It had the same layout, but the bed was on the right instead of the left. The bathroom was on her right, etc.

"Welcome to our humble abode," Yoshinon bowed, still on Yoshino's hand, "What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to check on how you're doing," Emi replied. Her eyes roamed the room, searching for bugs even as she continued the conversation, "How are you doing? I know all the changes have been sudden and happening quite quickly."

"It's a little scary," Yoshino confessed, "B-but, I'm happy th-that the... AST?... the AST won't chase me anymore."

"Yeah! If it keeps the bullies away, Yoshinon would be super-happy!"

"That's good," Emi found two bugs and over-reinforced them to shatter them before turning her full attention to Yoshino and Yoshinon. "Did Reine say anything about what's going to happen to you? For instance, where are you going to live?" Emi asked.

"Sleepy lady said that they had an apartment for Spirits ready," Yoshinon informed her, "Purple girl already lives there, and Shido lives next door. Sleepy lady said that Yoshinon and Emi-chan would live there once everything's ready!"

"Thanks for the information, Yoshinon. They'll probably place me in the apartment as well. By the way, Yoshino, will you be ok with living by yourself in the apartment?"

"I'll be ok," Yoshino murmured, "I-It might be a little lonely..."

"Lonely, huh? Then, how about once everything's settled, I'll come over every now and then? We can find things to do together, whether it be cooking or watching TV or anything else. Sounds good?"

Yoshino nodded.

"Does Emi-chan, by any chance, like to cook?" Yoshinon asked, "Emi also made that delicious lunch earlier, didn't she?"

"Well, I find cooking relaxing. It's a nice way to take my mind off whatever worries I have currently. That my cooking is good is just experience."

"Th-then, c-could Emi teach me to cook?"

"Alright," Emi grinned, "The first thing we'll do together after everything's settled is cooking, then. I'll guide you through all the steps, so don't worry."

"Th-thank you."

"So Yoshino, what do you like to do?"

"Um..."

The two continued to chat for a while, before deciding to watch a movie titled _Maiden and the Bear._ Later on, Shido came in from school to check on them.

They gave him a spot on the couch.


	4. Kurumi Knockdown 1

**AN: To some of you, thanks for the positive feedback (I might mention people in the future, so if you _don't_ want me mentioning you, say that in your review).**

**I will no longer to be responding to reviews that ask for spoiler-ish responses. This includes the question, "who is Emi?" I initially had no intention of answering this until the reveal later on. Likewise, I will not discuss who beats who. If you see characters in a fight here, I want you guys, the readers, to not know what to expect.**

**Plus, those responses tend to be long. Fanfiction keeps track of word length. I don't want a reader to come here, expecting a story of a particular length and find only half of it is actual content.**

**Some people has said Emi can oneshot everyone with Gae Bolg except Mukuro. That's false. I won't go into details (see above) but many DaL characters have ways of either surviving Gae Bolg or straight up preventing its use. **

**The response section has vanished because I realized that my AN tends to just be one giant response section anyways.**

**Emi has Avalon. She just can't use it because it requires Saber's presence.**

**The age was a joke. Please stop taking it so seriously. I know I'm a bad joker, so if you could all just pretend to laugh... Yes, that was a joke too. Forgive me.**

* * *

Emi and Yoshino gazed up at the apartment building before them. On the outside, the building was a normal brick building of five stories. If anything made it stand out, it was its height compared to the two-story houses next to it, though the number of other tall buildings on the street made it fit right in. However, Emi knew that this building was where the Spirits Ratatoskr had sealed lived in.

Ratatoskr had finally finished making their arrangements. Emi and Yoshino were to move in today. Each had a rolling suitcase packed with their essentials and spare clothes.

Speaking of clothes, Reine had found a one-piece white dress with pink frills and a sunhat for Yoshino. There had been several other outfits, though Emi had to admit that Yoshino's cute appearance could probably make any clothes suit her. Emi was wearing a similar white dress, though instead of frills it had a black sash around the waist. She had also forgone the hat for her favorite red jacket.

Honestly, she would have worn her regular t-shirt and trousers, but Yoshino had been feeling a little uncomfortable about wearing something new, so Emi had decided to make her feel better by also wearing a dress, no matter how uncomfortable it made _her _feel.

There was the sound of a door opening, and the front door of the neighboring house opened. Shido stepped out in his school's summer uniform, his right hand shading his eyes from the sun's rays. He carried both a school bag and a plastic bag.

"Yoshino? Emi?" he called, seeming surprised to see them. Emi wondered if it was truly a surprise for him, seeing as his sister was the commander of the Fraxinus. Then again, he may have been left out of the loop, considering how little he was on the Fraxinus.

"Hiya, Shido-kun! It's a nice day to meet you!" Yoshinon called from her perch on Yoshino's hand, "You have something to say too, don't you, Yoshino?"

"G-good morning, Shido-san!" Despite the few words, the attention Yoshinon had drawn to her made her face flush. "I-i, ah," She took a deep breath. "It's nice to meet you!" Unlike before, where she had spoken in soft whispers that had been difficult to hear, this time she managed to speak loud and clear.

"Nice to meet you too." Shido grinned. "Reine is teaching you to speak louder, isn't she?"

Yoshino began to nod before stopping, taking a breath, and saying "Yes!" It seemed she had reached her limit, however, because after taking another breath as if to say more, she gripped her sunhat in her hands and tilted it to cover her eyes.

She was saved from speaking by Yoshinon. "Is Shido-san heading to school? Or perhaps waiting for Tohka? Or, or, did you come out to see little old Emi, Yoshino, and Yoshinon?"

"Bit of a combination of all of the above, really," Shido answered sheepishly. He raised the plastic bag in his hand. "I was planning on giving this bento to Tohka in person today, before walking to school. Then Kotori sort of pushed me out of the house, saying we had guests. I'm guessing that's you two, huh?"

'Yesiree!" said Yoshinon. The bento explained the slight smell of asparagus, bacon, and eggs, but... Emi took another sniff. There was also magic in the air. She took a step towards Shido and sniffed again. Yes, the scent of magic was getting stronger, though it was still faint.

"Umm... Emi?" Shido asked as she drew closer and closer, still sniffing the air.

Yoshino tilted her head in confusion. "E-Emi?" Yoshino tried.

"My, my, is Emi going in for Shido's scent?" Yoshinon asked, "She's being really bold! Yoshino, you should-" the puppet-master promptly silenced her puppet with her other hand.

"Is something wro- eek!" Shido yelped as Emi got too close to his face for comfort, causing him to push her away.

"Ah, sorry." Emi gave an embarrassed grin. Now that she though of it, the situation must have looked incredibly strange. "I thought I smelled, well, never mind. Ratatoskr gave you an invisible earpiece, didn't they?"

"Was that what you were sniffing the air for? Thank goodness." He let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness?" Emi tilted her head curiously. "Why?"

"I've had a... strange experience."

"I see." No, she really didn't. Did some stalker sniff him or his clothes or something? Since he seemed so uncomfortable about the topic, she decided to let it slide.

"How'd you know I had an earpiece just from your nose?" He changed the subject. "Can you smell the metal or something?"

"Maybe." She grinned.

Right then, there was the swoosh of a sliding door, and Tohka stepped out of the apartment, still yawning. It seemed that, while Shido and Kotori were morning people, Tohka was not.

Or maybe Shido wasn't a morning person and just got woken up by Kotori every day. If Emi recalled correctly, he had complained about Kotori's wake-up methods before. In which case, Kotori, Emi, and Yoshino were morning people while Shido and Tohka were not.

Emi snapped herself out of her musings before they could wander to what kind of person was Reine. It seemed Shido had given Tohka her bento, and they were talking about the food.

"Isn't chicken fried rice breaking international law?" Tohka asked Shido.

Emi blinked. What? What did she miss?

After Shido explained that there were no such laws against chicken friend rice, and the mecha-mecha squad was not going to steal her bento for any reason, Tohka hugged the bento to her chest before turning to Yoshino and Emi.

"Aren't you two Yoshino and Emi?" she asked, "Oh, and the little rabbit is Yoshinon, right?"

"Right-o," confirmed Yoshinon, before poked Yoshino. The blue-haired girl gave a start before peeking out from behind her hat.

"U-um, G-good," she shook her head and started again, "Good morning!" she said without a stutter.

"Good morning, Yoshino!" Tohka replied, but Yoshino had already retreated to the safety of her hat.

Awkward silence.

"The weather is nice today, isn't it?" Emi tried.

"Yeah!" Shido agreed, latching onto a chance to end the silence, "That's a sunhat, right Yoshino?"

"Y-yes. Reine said to wear it." It seemed that without taking her preemptive breath, her voice returned to its previous, quiet levels.

"She's right. Not only is it good for this weather, it looks very cute on you." At Shido's words, Yoshino turned red and further tugged down her hat.

"Th-thank you," she managed, "T-Tohka-san's uniform is also very cute." Emi wasn't quite sure how it was possible, but Yoshino seemed to become even smaller after saying those words.

Was blushing contagious? Because Tohka's face suddenly seemed to become one with a tomato. Oh no, Emi was going to be next, wasn't she?

"Eh? What? Th-That..." Tohka swallowed. "Shido, do you think the same?" Safe!

"Yeah, your uniform really suits you."

"Is that so?" Was it just her, or did Tohka look a little upset? Maybe she had wanted Shido to call her cute too?

"Yes," Emi joined, "The uniform looks cute on you too, Tohka."

"Ah, right." Tohka seemed a little embarrassed, but happier - was that really what she wanted to hear? Nevertheless, she returned the compliment. "I've never seen you in a dress before, Emi. You look very pretty."

"Eheheh, thanks," Emi said, scratching her cheek in embarrassment.

Wait, was she blushing? It seemed the contagious affliction had reached her after all.

"No fair. We're all blushing but Shido isn't," she grumbled.

"Eh?!"

* * *

After Tohka and Shido left for school, Yoshino and Emi entered the apartment building. The building's purpose to house Spirits was evident almost immediately after entering. In the walls, sandwiched between two layers of bricks, was a solid layer of concrete. As the two headed for the elevator situated right next to the stairs, each pulling their suitcases, she noticed that both the stairs and the railing were made from thick pieces of metal. When they entered the elevator, there were no rails to lean on, and the walls were completely metal. It was as if Ratatoskr expected a the Spirits to break anything they came in contact with.

Then again, seeing as a Spirit was apparently responsible for the giant crater over parts of Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan, Emi had to concede that perhaps their fears weren't entirely unfounded.

Emi's room was room 202 on the second floor, while Yoshino once again had the room next to her. She wondered if they'd given her the same number as the one she had on the ship on purpose - it would make it easier to remember. Not that Emi would ever have any trouble remembering just three digits.

She pulled out two keys, each with a room number inscribed, from her jacket pocket. One had been meant for Yoshino, but since her dress didn't have any pockets (neither of the dresses did), Emi had offered to hold on to it. She handed the key engraved with '201' to Yoshino.

The two shared a look before opening their doors as one.

Emi couldn't help notice that the walls were much thicker than a normal building's. On the inside though, her new room looked exactly like the one on the Fraxinus, complete with the small kitchen and television. The only difference was that there was another door.

Emi walked over to inspect it. An extra closet? But there was an unused bolt on it. A closet wouldn't need to be bolted.

Then the door opened, and on the other side was Yoshino. The door must connect their rooms then.

"S-sorry!" came the other girl's stuttered apology, "I-I just wanted to see what the door was for. I'll go now!"

"No, it's fine. I was just about to check that door myself. If you need anything from me, you can just knock on the door."

Now that Emi thought of it, Kotori had mentioned that Ratatoskr had been on the fence on whether or not to let Yoshino leave the airship, considering her poor social ability. They probably added the door to make it easier for her check on Yoshino.

Yoshino nodded. Yoshinon began to say something, but then the door closed and the puppet's force was completely muted.

Huh. The walls were soundproof.

A look at her bedside clock told her it was 8:30 A.M. Still early in the morning then. She would have to go to work at 10. Originally, she had begun work at 9, but Ratatoskr threw a fit when she jumped out the Fraxinus like a crazy skydiver to get to work on time.

In Emi's defense, the higher ups hadn't been on the ship that early in the morning, so the crew had difficulty figuring whom among them could give her clearance to use the teleporter.

As a result of the incident, Emi ended up having to ask the Watanabes for a later start time. Both agreed, without even reducing her pay. Apparently she did more than they had expected her to do anyways.

Emi spent thirty minutes hanging up her clothes and putting her toiletries in the bathroom. Still with plenty of time to spare, she pulled out a notebook and a folder with several tabs from her suitcase.

_'Ratatoskr,' _read one of the front page of the notebook. It contained her notes on the mysterious organization that had reached its hand out to her. It didn't hurt to know a bit about her current allies, did it?

And if she was also noting potential weaknesses in case they ended up as enemies, that was no one's business but her's.

_'Spirits,'_ read the folder, with the symbol of Rataoskr on the front. This was the information Kotori had managed to gather with her status as commander of the Fraxinus. Her appeal to get information from Woodman was still underway, so Emi took what she had at the moment.

She sat in the bed and began to read.

_'Spirits are extraordinary beings from a different dimension. When entering our dimension, they create a spacequake similar to a bomb explosion. Each individual Spirit is unique in personality, power, and their knowledge of the world. Due to their vast differences, each observed Spirit has a separate file dedicated to traits unique to that Spirit.'_

So far, this was all knowledge she had learned from Yoshino. At this point, there was a note. '_I added the files on the currently active Spirits to the back. I'll be sending you the full list of all previous Spirits and their files on your phone later. -Kotori'_

Well, that was considerate of her. A brief check at the back showed that, indeed, there were extra sections on Emi and several other Spirits.

She continued reading. _'All Spirits draw their power from a crystal, often located within their chest. Traits that all Spirits share are ownership of an Astral Dress, instinctive control over an Angel, and the ability to enter an inverse state. They also share an ability to fly and slowed aging._

_Most Spirits display a significantly better control over their spirit energy than do even the best human wizards. A Spirit is capable of forming a Territory (see file: "Realizer Basics") and performing magic without the use of a Realizer. Although Spirits can perform magic, they do not seem to be able to learn new magic other than what they were born with.'_

So other Spirits were capable of magic without the use of mechanical crutches. While Emi already knew this, she took particular note that the passage implied that a human was incapable of magic without a Realizer. That was a potential weakness she could tap into - if the Realizer was damaged, that human was effectively out of the fight.

Though the majority was still knowledge she was aware of, the passage had introduced a few new terms. Emi's Astral Dress was likely the armor she gained whenever she tapped into her mana - or spirit energy, as it seemed humans called it. She had no knowledge of an Angel or an inverse state, however.

There were tabs titled both 'Angels' and 'Inversion.' Emi chose the 'Angel' tab first.

_'The absolute shield that protects the Spirits. Its form, shape, and function all differ between each individual Spirit. Angels can take many forms, from monsters to swords, all of which seem to display some special power. Their counterparts are the Demon Kings wielded by Spirits in their Inverse form. Once again, due to the many differences among Angels, individual Angels are described in their respective owner's file._

_All Spirits have instinctive knowledge of their Angel's basic functions, regardless of how complicated their Angel may be or whether a Spirit has lost their memory. Most Angels have combative applications, and those that do not usually compensate with great versatility.'_

To get an example of an Angel, Emi flipped to the back. There was a small table of contents of Angels, with a few highlighted to denote they belonged to active Spirits, according to the footnote. Emi turned to Yoshino's page.

_'Spirit: Hermit_

_Name: Yoshino_

_Height: 144 cm_

_Eye Color: Blue'_

At this point, she skipped down to what she was looking for.

_'Angel: Freezing Puppet Zadkiel'_

A picture was taped next to the name of the Angel. It showed a massive rabbit made of snow and ice. Its eyes were red-

_The white haired figure with red eyes smiled, as if looking down at him. 'You'll die if you don't summon it soon, Onii-chan.'_

Emi blinked, then let out a sigh and put aside the file before rubbing her eyes. That had been the first time she had a flashback at a time when she could ponder over it.

She shifted over so that she could lay on her bed and stare at the ceiling. What did she know about her past?

There was someone she lost. The name was on the tip of her tongue, and Emi knew she should know it. It was someone very precious, someone whom Emi had been willing to... to... to do _something_ for. And it frustrated her to no end that she couldn't remember.

Secondly, she likely was a wizard. She had far better control over her mana - _spirit energy_, she reminded herself - than either Yoshino or Tohka. That implied that she had learned that control somewhere. And since she was once a wizard, she could conclude that she was once a human too - well, she already felt that was the case, but now she had a logical reason to believe it.

Third, she had fought some kind of shadow monster before. When Yoshino had played on the jungle gym during their first meeting with Shido, Emi had remembered a giant shadow monster with tentacles. Was that a Spirit? And if it was, what kind of Spirit was it?

And if she, a human, had fought a Spirit, how was she alive now?

Speaking of Spirits, every Spirit had an Angel and was supposedly born with the ability to use that Angel, yet Emi had no clue what her's was. Perhaps her crystal/core was defective. That was unlikely, as her own analysis of her core and comparison with Yoshino's had shown no anomalies.

Their cores had been very different, Yoshino's being a light blue while Emi's was dark red. Before she was sealed, Yoshino's provided more spirit energy than Emi's did, resulting in her leaking spirit energy and causing rain wherever she went. Still, other than a difference in color and spirit energy output, there hadn't been much of a difference.

After Shido sealed her powers, Yoshino's core became quieter. It was still there, pumping spirit energy like a second heart, but the rate of the pumping as well as volume of the energy had decreased greatly. Overall, Emi estimated it produced 1-5% of its original output.

Now that she was allied with Ratatoskr, Emi also had opportunities to observe Tohka, who's core, like Yoshino's, greatly weakened. However, it still pumped large amount of spirit energy, several times that of a regular human.

Emi had failed to see any major problems with her core compared to the other two, which meant there was a significant chance of an outside force being responsible for the missing Angel.

One possibility was that she was incompatible with her Angel. She needed to do more research on whether it was possible for a host to be incompatible with an Angel, and what the effects were. Still, Emi doubted this was the case, since she would have heard of other Spirits facing this problem. Checking if there were other Spirits unable to summon their Angels would be a good way to start looking down this avenue.

Another possibility was that her knowledge had been removed. That was a chilling thought. The idea of a being capable of manipulating Spirits, able to control - to a degree - the living calamities that took whole teams of the best humans in the world to challenge was absurd. If it existed, it most certainly was a threat.

Still, if someone removed her memories of her Angel, then that person must have met her before she lost her memory. Actually, it was wholly possibly that this theoretical person removed all her memories themselves.

So now she had two leads to her past - the reason for the missing knowledge of her Angel, and the creation of Spirits.

She picked up the folder again. If she remembered correctly, she was going to take a look at Inversion before she had her flashback.

The page on Inversion read, _'When a Spirit undergoes large amounts of negative emotions, she will enter their Inverse Form. In their Inverse Form, their Angel is replaced with their Demon King. A Spirit's Demon King has always been more powerful than their Angel. Spirits in Inverse Form are difficult to reason with and Inversion is rare; thus, little is known of Inverse Spirits other than they are easily provoked and much more dangerous than non-Inversed Spirits._

_A list of known Inversions:..._

The information was little, but that was reasonable considering the subject. Emi scanned the list, though none of the names were remotely familiar.

Inversion... any Spirit could undergo Inversion. This was something she definitely needed to do further research to verify, perhaps checking the public version of events to see if something happened during an Inversion. Something big like this would definitely leave signs of a cover-up.

Theoretically, Emi herself could invert under the correct conditions. It also meant any Spirit could become an enemy at any time. Her heart squeezed at the thought.

She might have to kill Yoshino...

No, there was no point in dwelling on slim possibilities. Yoshino had survived long enough without inverting, and now with Emi, Shido, and Tohka, it was unlikely she would invert at all. In truth, she wasn't sure she could kill the poor girl. And while Emi didn't know Tohka, she seemed like a cheerful person, constantly happy. She was unlikely to invert as well.

But what if someone close to them was killed? If Shido was killed, Tohka had a very real possibility of inverting. The same went for Yoshino if either Emi or Shido were taken away from her.

"Ugh," Emi groaned. What a pain. Both Tohka and Yoshino depended on those close to them to stay stable.

Then her path was clear.

For the sake of their happiness and the world, Emi would just have to ensure nothing touched herself or Shido Itsuka.

She raised her hand. A simple blade appeared.

Time to test what she could do.

* * *

The sun was setting as Emi left work.

The Watanabes took the orders and manned the register while Emi did the cooking. It was the arrangement formed after they first ate her cooking. Emi knew she was a good cook, but she hadn't exactly expected to be promoted to main chef on the spot.

Still, being a weekday, it had been quiet. Everyone was busy with school and work, leaving little time to visit small restaurants like that at which Emi worked at. If a group of high school students hadn't entered right before they closed, likely having just finished some club meeting, then Emi would have been allowed to leave early.

As it was, she ended up going home half an hour late, with apologies from both the Watanabes. Actually, with apologies from Ms. Watanabe. Mr. Watanabe had kept his stoic face.

Now that she had time to herself again, she ran over what she had learned that morning.

Firstly, she could make weapons, though the closer that weapons was to a sword, the easier it was to make. She had already demonstrated this ability, but it helped to be comprehensive. Her creations could be mundane weapons, or they could be ancient weapons with their unique powers granted by their legends - or what she had taken to calling a Noble Phantasm.

Although she said she could 'make' weapons, it was more like she had a catalog of weapons choices that she could view instantly and 'purchase' those weapons with spirit energy. She was not truly able to create her own weapons, only tap into the abilities and history of those she had recorded in her catalog.

Secondly, she could add certain weapons to her catalog by viewing them and analyzing them with magic, though she could also just analyze things without adding them to her catalog if they weren't compatible. She had been able to copy the AST's No Pain energy sword, though it definitely did not give the same shine as the original. Attempts to recreate more complicated weaponry, such as rocket launchers and machine guns, had succeeded, but not without extreme difficulty. In fact, summoning the rocket launchers and machine guns had felt unnatural, like her very soul was protesting their existence. Whereas she recreated every detail of her swords and spears, using a series of steps to recreate everything from the manufacturing process to the history, the guns had simply appeared without any steps.

Even if it would be a little cool to rain bullets on someone...

"The spirit energy needed to summon just a pistol is insane," she muttered. Indeed, to bypass the problems in summoning a gun, she had eventually just thrown spirit energy at the issue until it worked. And while she did succeed, having a gun did not make up for the cost involved. While her large energy pool meant she could summon a storm of bullets, it really was not worth it.

At least she could scare away would-be muggers with it. Her creations didn't disappear unless she wanted them to, after all, so she just kept the small gun in her pocket. If she was stopped by the police, she could just make it disappear.

Third, she could reinforce things. All she needed to do was flood a target with spirit energy, letting the energy fill every nook and cranny, and that target would become 'better.' Eyes would see farther, metal pipes would be stronger, food would be tastier...

Actually, she was guilty of also already using this one.

Not-quite-fourth, she could alter her creations to take on different shapes. This was really just a different application of reinforcement, however.

"I really am a close-ranger," she mused. Without guns, her only ranged options were arrows and throwing weapons. By altering a sword, she could produce arrows that were much cheaper spirit energy-wise than bullets. Still, unless she was launching a Noble Phantasm or up against a few humans, she would likely be outmatched at range.

"Shido, What's for dinner toady? Hamburger steak?"

There was a familiar voice. Emi rounded a corner to see Tohka and Shido in front of her. Both were still in their school uniforms, but Shido also carried a bag of what appeared to be groceries. Even as they were walking in her direction, neither had noticed her yet. Seeing as they probably were all headed home, Emi stopped and waited for them.

Shido shrugged. "There's still stewed carrots with fish floss and sanshoku donburi left over from yesterday."

"But can't we have hamburger steak anyways?" Tohka pouted.

Someone bumped into Emi from behind. She flinched and instinctively jumped away before sizing up the newcomer.

The girl standing before her was dressed in a parka and skirt. With her blue hair up in a ponytail and her sports shoes, she gave off an 'athletic girl' vibe.

"Sorry!" the other girl apologized, "I didn't mean to walk into you."

"No, no, it's my fault," Emi replied, "I shouldn't have-"

"Emi?" It seemed Shido had finally noticed her.

"Shido," Emi acknowledged.

"Shido?" came the voice of the blue haired girl as she stared at the boy with the same hair color as her.

"Shido?" Tohka asked, tugging at his sleeve questioningly.

"Shi - ok, lets stop," Emi grumbled.

"Bro..."

"Hmm?"

The unknown girl ran to Shido, only for Emi to trip her and step between them. "Shido, do you know her?" she asked as she stood in front of him protectively. Now that she knew of Inverse Forms, she couldn't let anyone harm Shido.

"U-um-"

"Brother!" the girl cried, getting to her feet and trying to run to him again. Emi tripped her again even as her brain was processing that declaration.

"Brother?" Emi turned to Shido.

"Brother?!" Tohka cried in surprise.

"No, he's my brother, not yours!" the girl stood again.

Shido just stared.

"What?!"


	5. Kurumi Knockdown 2

**AN: This story _will_ eventually further diverge from Date a Live. I don't want to write a copy of DaL (even if nothing says a copy can't defeat the original), and I'm sure many of you don't want to read one either (if you do, go rewatch DaL). There has already been a divergence - the Yoshino arc was cut short, and Yoshino views Shido as her friend rather than her hero.**

**I like to write with the assumption that my readers have limited knowledge of the source material, since nothing is lost if the reader already knows what I'm explaining. It's common for people to be lacking knowledge from one side, as the Nasuverse(Fateverse) has lots of works, while DaL has a smaller fandom. Heck, I don't fully understand Nasuverse magic myself, and I've been using the help of the wiki for later DaL content, cause I'm not done with the LN. Help me, Rasielmon!**

**I've learned that in canon, everyone thought Yoshino was a pure Spirit. Eh, I'm leaving what I wrote alone. Also, Woodman is supposed to be still in charge of Ratatoskr. He still is in this fic, just not directly. Seriously, he can't walk, his vision is failing, and who knows what else is afflicting him. The guy shouldn't be handling a full-time job when he's like that.**

**Emi's amnesia serves multiple purposes. It's a nerf, an excuse to avoid Fate mechanics, and makes info dumps more normal.**

**As I have said, Emi does have UBW. For in-story reasons that haven't been revealed yet, she is not able to manifest it.**

**The only Sephiroth that isn't taken is Da'at, the emptiness/void. It isn't even considered a Sephiroth in many cases, and it has no associated angel. **

**I've passed hints, in both the story and the previous ANs as to what Emi's Angel is. To the Rupture, I said the name wasn't an actual angel in the chapter 3 AN... I feel bad now... T-T**

**To hmm23. Whenever a guest reviewer reviews a fanfic, it gets sent to a separate box where the author can moderate it. Authors can choose to stop a review or let it pass. I don't check the moderate box too often, so if you review as a guest, expect a day or two for your review to appear.**

**...and now I've learned that Nia is seriously OP too. Future describing? What next, Mio is the mother of spirits?**

**Edit: Due to a review, I've modified the part about Emi altering the folder.**

* * *

"So this is big brother's home!" came the reaction from the unknown girl who called herself Mana Takamiya as they stood before Shido's two-story home.

Forgive Emi for being suspicious, but she was going to keep her hand on her pistol.

A long-lost sibling that just happened to appear shortly after Shido was introduced to the world of Spirits? It screamed 'ulterior motives.'

It was fully possible that they were siblings, given their similar features, but just because they were siblings did not mean they would not try to kill each other.

For some reason, Emi felt there was some cosmic joke in that statement.

Still, Shido had caved into the girl's passionate declaration of sisterly love and let her follow them home. It was as if he was completely unconcerned with the possibility of his enemies tracking him down!

Or maybe he didn't have any enemies... Nah, there's always someone out there looking to off you. Shido just didn't know it. Still, it seemed Ratatoskr was also unconcerned with revealing Shido's house, considering that Shido still had his earpiece in. Even if it was invisible, its abilities were no match for Emi's senses. And since Shido wasn't cringing from the yelling he would have been subjected to if Kotori disagreed with his decision, it seemed he had the go ahead.

"I didn't know Shido had another sister," Tohka mumbled, looking dejected that she had supposedly been left out of the secret.

"I didn't know I had another sister either," Shido sighed.

"Really? But she looks just like you."

"That's because I _am _his sister!" Mana grumbled, crossing her arms. Then she frowned. "Still, older brother, I never expected you to be that kind of person."

"Huh?"

"Why are you still mixing with girls other than sister-in-law?"

"S-s-s-sister-in-law?" Shido gaped, "Wh-who?"

"Tobiichi, of course!"

Emi blinked. "Shido's married?"

"I'm not!"

"What is a sister-in-law?" Tohka asked, tilting her head."

"Ah, no, it's-"

"I can't believe my older brother was a two-timer!" Mana interjected.

"Two-timer?" It seemed Tohka was learning a lot of new vocabulary today. "Is that a food? Shido, I want to try it!" Emi felt a pang of sympathy for Shido.

"Ugh. You're Tohka, right?" Mana continued, "Have you gone on a date with brother?"

"Oh, I have!"

"Shido asked me out on a date too," Emi mused to herself. Mana was onto her in an instant.

"Did you already, you know," she mimed a certain expression.

"Kiss? No, we haven't. Yoshino has though."

"There's more?!" the so-called sister wailed, "Impure! My brother has been contaminated by filth!"

"Hey, calm down-"

"You really are a playboy. As your sister, I must correct you!"

"Shido, what's a playboy?"

"No, you're not correcting anyone," Emi deadpanned as she stepped between them again, "In fact, you aren't getting within two feet of Shido."

Mana stared at her. "No way," she breathed, "Even though you didn't kiss, he has captured your heart...?"

"Eh?! No!" Emi's face turned the same color as her pink hair.

"Everyone, let's just head in," Shido sighed as he unlocked the door, "Mana, you can wait at the dining table. Tohka, Emi, how about you two head back to your rooms and rest for a bit? I'll be making hamburger steak."

"Shido!" Tohka exclaimed, "I want fried eggs too!"

"Yes, yes," he said as Tohka cheered and ran out.

"I'll stay and help you," Emi offered, receiving a nod from Shido. However, it seemed Mana caught the exchange.

"C-cooking with brother... no way..."

"She's thinking of something dangerous..." Shido muttered.

"I don't know what she's talking about, but I don't like it..." Emi agreed.

Shido gave a cough. "Let's go."

As soon as the door opened, someone from within called, "Welcome back _brother_!" with extra emphasis on 'brother.' Kotori stood right before them in casual attire, black ribbons in her hair. It seemed she had been waiting for some time.

"I'm home," Shido responded, stepping into the room and to the side for Emi and Mana to pass through.

"Who's this?" Kotori asked as Mana entered. Since Shido had the earpiece in, Emi was certain Kotori already knew who she was and was playing dumb. Still, it would have been suspicious if Kotori had known about Mana beforehand.

"We met each other when I was coming back from the grocery store," Shido said, sweating under the tension that had begun to grow as soon as Kotori laid eyes on Mana. "She-"

"I'm Mana Takamiya! Thank you very much for taking care of my older brother!" Mana bowed.

"Huh? You mean Shido?" Kotori asked.

"Yes!"

"Haa...?" Kotori turned and walked to the living room. "Come with me."

"Yes!" Mana took her shoes off and moved to follow. Emi and Shido quickly took theirs off and followed as well.

Kotori led them to a living room, where tea and snacks had already been laid out. She sat down on the sofa, then indicated for Mana to sit as well, which she did. Shido stood to the side while Emi sat on the sofa's armrest.

"Well then. Can you explain everything again?" Kotori asked Mana.

"Of course!"

"Your name is Mana, right? And you said you're Shido's sister?" Kotori leaned back with a lollipop from the table in her hand.

"Exactly," Mana nodded vigorously. Kotori studied her for a bit, before speaking.

"My name is Kotori Itsuka. I am also Shido's sister."

Mana tilted her head in confusion. "If you say that, does that make you my older sister?"

"I'm not."

"Ah, sorry, Kotori. Then, little sister-"

"Who're you calling your little sister?!" Kotori snapped, slamming her hands on the table and disturbing the tea in the cups. Everyone stared at her.

"Ahem," she coughed lightly to hide her embarrassment, though her cheeks were a little pink, "Sorry, but I don't remember having a sister."

"Really?"

Emi leaned over to Shido. "Doesn't this mean the case is closed?" she whispered.

He leaned back. "Actually, I was adopted by the Itsukas. It's still possible she's my sister."

"Ah. I see." Still, Mana was younger than Shido, so how did she remember him?

"Hey, Mana." Shido spoke up.

"Yes, big brother?!" Mana seemed excited to be acknowledged by Shido. Kotori picked up her tea and took a suspiciously long drink. Even if Kotori thought she was being sneaky, Emi could see the edges of a grimace.

"Sorry, but I don't remember anything about you," he began.

"I expected that."

"But do you remember our parents?" he continued.

Mana frowned. "To be honest, I don't remember anything from my past."

"How much did you forget?" Kotori asked, seeming more interested.

"I can't remember anything before three years ago, though I still have some faint memories. I also have this," Mana pulled out a silver locket and opened it, revealing an old picture of two children. One was a boy and the other was a girl, and both had blue hair.

"Is that me?" Shido gasped.

"Of course! There's no doubt!"

"How are you so certain?" Emi finally spoke. "There could be a million people with similar appearances. Plus, they'd be grown up now, so they could look like anything."

"Yeah!" Kotori added, "Besides, Shido looks like he's ten in that picture! He was already with us at that time!"

"I'm certain! It's the bond between siblings! When I first saw brother, I felt my heart race, and then I knew for certain."

"Feels her heart race, she said. Isn't that love on first sight?" Kotori deadpanned. Emi coughed to hide her laugh. Beside her, Shido looked horrified at the idea of another person in his harem.

"Maybe it is love on first sight," Mana mused, "In that case, let me have him!" If possible, Shido looked even worse. Emi began 'coughing violently.' Fortunately, it seemed Kotori and Mana were too preoccupied with each other.

"No way! Shido's already part of this family, and we're not letting you take him away!"

Mana smiled. "Your words make me happy."

"What?"

"I didn't remember big brother very well, but I remembered when he left," Mana murmured, "I was really worried if he was ok. To know that he has such a loving family and a cute sister makes me relieved."

Kotori blushed. "Wh-wh-why are you-"

"Besides," Mana continued, "Everyone knows you can't beat a real sister."

Crack!

It seemed Kotori suddenly gripped her teacup too tightly. It didn't take a genius to see where this was going.

"Maybe we should start cooking," Emi whispered. Wordlessly, Shido nodded. The two got up and headed to the kitchen, though due to their proximity to the living room they could hear every word said.

"Is that so?" Kotori's voice was strained.

"Of course. Nothing beats blood ties."

Shido set the groceries down on the counter top. Emi took out the hamburger meat from the plastic bag and began to chop it. Shido began to preheat the oven.

"You know, there's a Japanese saying 'a close relative afar is useless compared to a nearby neighbor.'"

"So what about it? There's also a saying, 'your destiny is set when you reach three years old.'"

Emi finished the meat and began to chop mushrooms and onions. Shido dumped the leftovers in the refrigerator into the pans and began to re-cook them.

There was an eerie laugh from Kotori that did not sound like it was full of joy. "Still, as the one that has spent more time with Shido, I have the advantage!"

"No, no, you're still an outsider. Blood is thicker than water! From the start, I had more sister points!"

"Sister points? What the heck? Still, as the younger sister for over ten years, my sister points are obviously higher!"

"Laughable! Meeting your long lost sister after being separated when you were young is a common staple in stories and is clear evidence that the blood ties are strong! It's proof that our blood ties transgress space itself!

Emi added the meat, mushrooms, and onions to a tray and added sauces. Shido added salt to the leftovers.

"Don't add too much," she reminded him.

"I know," he answered.

"Shut up! Blood ties?! A younger sister can't even marry him!" There was a loud bang. It seemed as if Kotori had slammed her hands down on the table again.

"Eh?" came Mana's surprised response.

"A younger sister can sleep in his bed without being married though," Emi mumbled.

Shido stopped paying attention to the food to stare at her.

"Anyways, the little sister is me!" Kotori proclaimed.

"No, the title of little sister belongs to the real sister, me!"

"Why you... There's only one way to settle this."

"Agreed!"

"Shido," they said in unison, "who-" They both stopped.

It seemed they only just noticed that Emi and Shido had left. There was the thudding of footsteps, and in just a second, they burst into the kitchen.

"Shido!"

"Shido!"

"Which side are you on?"

"Erm..." he looked uncomfortable, being confronted by the two of them.

"Foster sister or re-"

Emi decided to throw the poor boy a bone and held up two bags of trash. "Mana, Kotori, since you two seem _so_ lively, why don't you two help take out the trash?"

The two shared a look. "Let me ask Shido-" Kotori began.

"Trash. Now."

The two left, trash bags in hand.

Shido sent her a grateful grin, and Emi returned it.

* * *

"So was there something you wanted?" Emi asked Kotori.

Mana had left, once again muttering about her 'harem-seeking brother,' after Tohka and Yoshino showed up. After having dinner, they began playing four-way chess, but Kotori received a phone call and left the room. Moments later, she came back and told Emi and Shido to come with her to the Fraxinus. They were now in the control room with Reine. Two of the six work stations below them still had people, though it seemed most people had left for the day. After all, anyone still on the ship likely lived on the Fraxinus full time.

"Yes," Kotori answered as Reine manipulated a screen, "There's something you two need to see. But first, I think I need to explain some things to Emi first, considering she's a little behind on events."

"Oh my," Emi sighed, "I wonder what you could be talking about. It couldn't possibly be that new Spirit walking around town, can it?"

Kotori stared. "How-"

"I smelled her."

"...right. How much do you know?"

"Not much," Emi admitted, "I just know she smells of metal and blood. Which really is a sign you should be avoiding that Spirit."

"Ratatoskr intends to continue with its mission as normal," Kotori replied, "After all, if something goes wrong, we can call you in."

Emi shrugged.

"Anyways. The new Spirit showed up in Shido's class as a transfer student today. How she managed to get in without the required papers is unknown. We still have no clues as to what her Angel is. All we know is that she goes by the name Kurumi Tokisaki and she's interested in Shido. She is likely the Spirit code-named Nightmare, the Worst Spirit. With that out of the way, Reine, show it."

On the large screen above them, an image appeared. Multiple girls with hair of varying colors appeared, frolicking around as the title "Fall in Love, My Little Shido 2" displayed above them. It was an abomination.

And yet, Emi was interested.

"A sequel-?!" Shido gasped.

"Oops. Wrong one." Reine changed the screen to a darker one.

"Wait a minute! What was that?!"

"You'll grow bald if you stress over small details, Shido." Kotori rolled her eyes in apparent annoyance.

"That's not a small detail! Are you going to have another galge training?! Are-"

The video began to play. A girl with black hair tied in pigtails and dressed in the black Raizen High School's girls uniform - Kurumi - faced Mana in alley, surrounded by AST. The AST were equipped with their standard wiring suit and Realizers for Spirit combat, while Mana had a slightly different outfit, still with the wiring suit and Realizers, however.

"M-Mana?" Shido's eyes widened.

Kurumi began to raise her hands, when Emi leaned over to Reine's monitor and paused the video. "Wait a second."

"Hmm?" Kotori raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"What was the thing we saw just before this?"

Kotori gave her a deadpan. "Seriously? You too?"

"What? I'm curious."

"It's a dating sim," Kotori explained, "We use it to train Shido to interact with Spirits."

"Train, she says," Shido muttered quietly enough that only Emi's reinforced ears could hear, "More like torture."

"Can I see it?" Emi asked.

"No."

Emi frowned before turning to Shido. "Shido. Give me the first version after this."

"Eh? Alright then."

"No! Don't give it to her!" Kotori wailed, "I made that for-!" Seemingly realizing that she was breaking her "commander" appearance, she coughed. "Fine. Do whatever you want with it."

"You were going to say 'I made that for Shido only,' weren't you," Shido asked.

"What's the matter? Not ready for your little dating sim to be seen by someone outside your family?" Emi prodded.

"That's... moving on! Reine! Return to the video."

"Yes, commander."

The screen returned to the video of Kurumi and the AST. Kurumi raised her hands, and her clothes were replaced by a red and black dress with many fills and laces. The her bangs had been moved aside, revealing a glowing yellow eye with hands in it, like that of a clock. In her hands was a flintlock and a musket.

"Astral Dress..." Shido muttered.

An Astral Dress. The armor of the Spirits, the Territory that protects the Spirits.

Kurumi leaped up, as if to escape, but weapons on Mana's shoulders opened up and fired twin laser beams, stabbing through Kurumi's stomach. As Kurumi fell, Mana rushed forward -

And decapitated Kurumi.

It was over in an instant. Blood splattered the alley as Kurumi's lifeless and headless body flopped to the ground.

Beside Emi, Shido gulped. She snuck a glance at his face and noticed he was shivering and looking a little green. Wordlessly, she handed him a paper bag.

"Today, Kurumi Tokisaki was killed by the AST's Mana Takamiya," Kotori said plainly to her quiet audience, "Without hesitation, Mana murdered Kurumi."

"I doubt it," Emi muttered. Kotori motioned for her to continue, so she did. "Kurumi did not use her Angel."

"Her Angel could be one that isn't meant for combat," Kotori responded, "There are a couple of Angels like that."

"Still, she could have at least used her Angel as a shield," Emi answered, "But something else is bothering me too."

"Oh?"

"Mana's initial attack pierced Kurumi's Astral Dress easily. The weapon she used was one mounted on her shoulders, implying it's fairly easy to use, seeing as her hands were not needed to operate it. In comparison, Yoshino blocked an attack from one of the AST's sniper weapons, a much more difficult weapon that requires both hands and careful aiming. Mana's equipment is clearly superior to the others, being both more powerful and easier to use, but why is she the only one with the equipment?"

"It could be experimental equipment that she's testing," Kotori offered, "But I agree it's strange. She just moved into the area, so the AST shouldn't entrust her with powerful weaponry like that."

"Perhaps she got the equipment elsewhere?"

"Maybe," Kotori acknowledged, "In any case, this is certainly something that requires investigating. Still, Shido."

"Y-Yes?" He snapped out of his stupor. Now that Emi thought of it, he had been pretty quiet this whole time. Witnessing a murder must have impacted him more than she realized.

So then why wasn't she affected? Had she been like Mana, constantly witnessing death before she became a Spirit?

"If you see Mana again, stay away from her," Kotori warned, "She clearly works with the AST, and is incredibly dangerous. Unlike Tobiichi or the other AST members, her motives are unknown. She might not even be a part of the AST, given her different gear."

"I understand," Shido said quietly.

"And Emi," Kotori turned to her, "With Mana around, we might call on you if she attacks Shido or anything of the sort. I need you to be ready at any moment to answer our calls."

"...I thought I was only supposed to help Shido on Spirit-related missions?"

"Doesn't this qualify as Spirit-related? A potential enemy that can kill Spirits..."

"True enough," Emi agreed. It wasn't like she could leave Shido to be possibly killed, after all.

Still...

"You owe me a favor if you call me."

"Sure. Didn't expect you to work for free anyways."

* * *

Emi let out a gasp at the wonderful feeling beneath her.

After a long day, flopping on one's bed was the greatest sensation a human could experience, without a doubt.

Still, there was work to be done. In order to get a better idea of what Kurumi's Angel was, it would be a good idea to take a look at some other Angels she had information of.

Guess what? There was a file of such information sitting beside her bed!

Lazily, she reached out and snagged the folder before holding it up. She applied some spirit energy to the contents, fusing them with the folder so that they wouldn't fall out before holding the folder up like a large book.

She flipped to Tohka's page and skipped to her Angel. Next to the name was a large throne with a handle sticking out of the top.

_'Angel: Throne of Annihilation Sandalphon_

_The gilded throne serves as both a sheath and a supporting unit to her sword, Sandalphon. Alone, Sandalphon is capable of devastating slashes that destroy entire buildings with a single swing. However, the throne can be broken and fused with Sandalphon, increasing both its size and its destructive power. In this state, it is called Halvanhelev, or "Sword of the End," and it can release an attack capable of destroying smaller countries."_

_Despite the size of the sword, Princess has not shown any difficulty in wielding it, and has in fact displayed a degree of skill with the sword. Neither has she ever shown fatigue as a result of using its power._

_A noteable flaw of this Angel is that Halvanhelev requires time to both form and charge, and thus can be interrupted during the ten-second interval. However, due to Princess' large mana pool and ability to launch lesser, building-destroying attacks at will, it is recommended to simply appease her rather than trying to oppose her directly.'_

A devastating, anti-country Noble Phantasm. That was what Sandalphon could be compared to. Emi was certain none of her defenses would last against a monstrous attack like that.

Still, it let her get an idea for the raw power Angels possessed. With a sword like Sandalphon and the giant ice rabbit Zadkiel, Emi could say they were on par with some of her strongest Noble Phantasms.

Or at least, Zadkiel was on par with some of her strongest Noble Phantasms. Sandalphon was a monster on its own that Emi had no hope of matching. If she had to face it, the best course of action would be to stop it during its charge time.

She flipped the page forward this time to take a look at another Angel. _Spirit: Sister__,_ her mind read before she skipped down to the Angel.

_'Angel: Tome of Revelation Rasiel_

_Sister's Angel, Rasiel, is a book that can give the user information about anything that has ever happened in the world, no matter where and when. The user of Rasiel becomes near omniscient. Little else is known about Rasiel, as Sister disappeared five years ago. Her last seen location was in Japan. It is suspected that she was kidnapped by DEM; thus, her current status is unknown._

Information about anything, including Emi's past. This was an Angel she definitely needed to seek out.

At the moment though, she knew nothing about this DEM group. The file had no picture, no name, nothing else she could track this Spirit by. Not to mention, Sister could be dead already.

Actually, why was this Spirit in the folder? Didn't Kotori say she put a list of currently active Spirits in the folder? Five years was a long time for someone to missing, especially considering Spirits had only been around for 30 years. How did Ratatoskr determine if a Spirit was still alive?

At that moment, there was a ding from her phone. Emi took a look.

It was from Kotori. Apparently, she had sent through more information on various Spirits, plus an additional file - Itsuka Shido. The extra file had a note attached - _'You'll be working together in the future, so read it. -Kotori.'_ So forceful...

While she was indeed interested in learning more about other Spirits, Emi could not deny she was interested in the existence known as Itsuka Shido.

_'Name: Itsuka Shido.'_

Duh.

_'Age: 17_

_Personal Information:...'_

The personal information section began with his adoption by the Itsuka's. It was incredibly detailed, but Emi skipped it after she began reading a paragraph about Shido practicing special moves like a delusional middle schooler when he was nine. While she _was _interested in what other silly secrets the boy kept, she could respect his privacy to a degree.

She might read it later though. Just for laughs.

She also skipped the 'Appearance' section. She already knew what he looked like, after all.

_'Personality: Shido Itsuka is a kindhearted person who can easily sympathize with others, due to his own past of being an abandoned orphan. He is usually soft-hearted and tends to cave in to the demands of people he considers himself responsible for, though he has shown moments of stubbornness and determination._

_Abilities: Shido can seal away a Spirit's powers by getting close to them and kissing them. Upon kissing, a pathway is formed between himself and the Spirit, allowing for excess spirit energy to be sent from one to the other. For whatever reason, Shido's body is capable of regulating large amounts of spirit energy._

_Shido has also demonstrated the ability to replicate some of the abilities of Spirits he has sealed. So far, the only instance of this is his ability to regenerate rapidly as a result of sealing the Flame Spirit Efreet.'_

Their sealing methods were a little different. While Emi's sealing interfered with the source of her power, Shido helped control the spirit energy directly.

Emi frowned. She hadn't seen any Spirit named Efreet around. Was this Spirit a shut-in or something?

Aboard the Fraxinus, Kotori sneezed.

Emi was interrupted from her thoughts by a knock on the door to Yoshino's room. Having regained some energy back, she slipped off the bed and opened the door.

Yoshino stood on the other side, dressed in blue sleepwear. She gave a light jump when the door opened and stood there silently for a moment, before Yoshinon gave her a nudge.

"U-um," Yoshino began, "Th-this Wednesday is a holiday...?" Somehow, she managed to turn that statement into a question.

Emi nodded. "That's right."

"Th-then, would you be okay with spending time with Shido and Tohka and me then?" she asked, before frantically waving her Yoshinon-less hand, "I-I mean, if you're not busy or anything, because I know some people still work during the holidays. B-But if you don't have anything, maybe we could watch some movies or - Urk!" her hand twitched upward to pull down a nonexistent hat or hood over her eyes, but she managed to calm herself, though the words ended there. She looked down at her feet instead. Since they were the same height, Emi could see her face anyways.

How could she say no to such an adorable expression of hope?

"Alright," she agreed, immediately getting a smile from Yoshino, "Did you talk with Shido and Tohka already?"

Yoshino nodded earnestly.

"Both Shido and Tohka have school, and I have work, so we don't really have that much quality time. Just spending a day together watching movies sounds nice."

"Okay!" Yoshino let out a brilliant smile.

Cute. Too cute. The world was not yet ready for such a monster.


	6. Kurumi Knockdown 3

**AN: Yes, my last AN had three jokes in it. One from Fate, two from DaL.**

**By the way, the Angel's name doesn't necessarily have to be a place. It can be an object or a concept too. Ain Soph is an Angel as well. Huh, mystic eyes of death perception would be a cool Angel. Someone should go make a fanfic about Shiki as a Spirit.**

**I never actually said Emi's crystal is related to a Sephirot... When I brought up Da'at, I was replying to a review that mentioned Tipareth. I didn't expect everyone to get the idea that Emi's Sephirot was Da'at... surprise ruined...T-T**

**As DescendentYI2 said, some Angels and abilities are downright freaky if their users brought them to their full potential. Yoshino could technically form ice _inside_ people - she just doesn't because she's such a sweetheart. And if Tohka ever launched Halvanhelev the same way Kaleid!Illya launches schneiden... jeeze. Note that while Emi admits she can't match Halvanhelev in power, she never actually states that Tohka is unbeatable. There's more to a fight than just who has the better beam spam. If it was, I'd never beat Mordred with her infinite Clarent spam in FGO... oh wait, I still haven't beaten her yet. Uh...**

**We've had a lot of Emi, so here's some Shido! Don't worry, Emi's point of view will be back. I just want Shido to have a role too, cause he is unarguably someone who can be called a "hero" as well.**

**This chapter's shorter because I want Shido's date with Kurumi to begin its own chapter.**

**School's starting soon for me... ugh.**

*** means something that I will explain at the bottom just to be clear to people who have not seen as much anime or manga**

* * *

"Wait a second. Run that by me again?" Kotori's voice asked over the phone.

"Emi was right. Kurumi is alive," Shido answered.

Kurumi had greeted him as normal as soon as he arrived at school the next day. Of course, Shido had to alert Kotori as soon as possible, which was why he was by the unused corridor leading to the spacequake shelter during lunch calling her.

"Hmm. Thanks to Emi's foresight, this development wasn't completely unexpected," Kotori mused, "In that case, your job is simple. Tomorrow is a holiday, right? Invite Kurumi on a date, and make her fall in love!"

"Even if you say that, how can I speak to her normally so quickly after seeing... _that_?"

"There's no other choice! We don't know if she'll revive if she's killed again, so it's imperative that you seal her as fast as possible so that we can put her under protection."

Shido sighed. "Understood. But I already have plans with Emi, Yoshino, and Tohka. What should we do about that?" After Yoshino mustered up the courage to approach him, he felt really bad about having to ditch their plans. Not to mention, if a Spirit was upset, the energy pathway between them could become disrupted, which would lead to a return of their powers.

"Try to get the date in the morning. Say something like you need to pick up groceries. Then you can go on the date in the morning, and get back in the afternoon. Emi can cover for you while you're gone."

"You've put some thought into this. Okay, I'll go with that."

"Good, head back to lunch now. Tohka's waiting for you."

"Alright. See you." With a beep, the line disconnected and Shido began his trek back to his classroom.

As he neared the room, however, he noticed there was a loud commotion. People in the hallway where talking to each other.

"Hey, who's that girl?"

"Why's she here?"

"Must be someone's sister."

Shido ignored them. He was getting better at doing that, though he wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. He slid the door open and stepped into the classroom.

The as he turned to walk to his seat, he noticed someone sitting on his desk. Namely, the unsealed Spirit, Emi. She was once again back to her red-and-black trousers, t-shirt and jacket.

"Hey," Emi greeted, indicating to a bento that hadn't been on his desk when he left as well as one in Tohka's hands, "Your lunches, as ordered."

"Ordered?" came a whisper from the onlookers.

"That bastard Itsuka! Ordering such a cute girl around!"

"That's so gross!"

As usual, his class completely misunderstood the situation. After his training at Kotori's evil hands and her punishments that often involved his public shaming, Shido had thrown away his pride. No, that wasn't completely true. It was more like he gave up on fixing these dangerous situations. Rumors would die out faster if he didn't make a fuss.

Probably.

The truth was, after the briefing late last night, both Kotori and Shido had overslept and thus he didn't have the time to make lunch for himself and Tohka in the morning. Thus, he had asked Emi to deliver them something. He should have realized it would raise a fuss at school. Then again, he had been in a rush...

Still, from her reddening cheeks, it was clear Emi could hear everyone's words and hadn't meant for the class to interpret it in such a way.

"Anyways, since I'm on lunch break now, might as well eat with you guys," she said as she took out a third bento and sat on the empty desk - Origami's desk - to Shido's left. To his right, Tohka had already popped open the bento and begun to eat.

"Is he forcing her to eat with him?"

"That's so gross!" Once again, the voices drifted through the air. Shido ignored them.

"Did you already bring something to Kotori?" he asked. As her older brother, he had to make sure.

"Yep, passed her middle school on the way here."

"Dish ish good!" Tohka proclaimed happily, "I'shd like shoo learn chu cook like dish!"

"Maybe tomorrow," Emi replied as she opened her own bento, "By the way, where's this Origami person both of you have mentioned? I don't see anyone with white hair."

"Actually, she's not here. You're sitting on her desk."

"Oh. I'll get off then."

Tohka stopped her. "Don't," she huffed, "You're much more welcome than that annoying Tobiichi."

Emi gave wry smile. "Thanks. If she shows up, I'll move then."

Right then the door slid open, and Kurumi entered the room. Her gaze immediately turned to the three of them, and she shot them a smile. Shido noticed Emi didn't seem particularly surprised to see Kurumi.

Still, the scene from last night, the blood painted across the walls-

"Shido, are you alright?" Tohka asked, poking him in the ribs and snapping him out of the memory. "You stopped eating. Why'd you stop eating when the food's so good?"

"Ah, no, I'm alright," he reassured her. He noticed Kurumi returning to her seat. "I was just thinking."

"Don't think while you eat!" Tohka said, "I've heard it makes good food less tasty."

"Eh? I suppose that's true in a way..." Shido scratched his cheek and turned back to his food. After all, if you were thinking, you wouldn't pay as much attention to the flavor. He noticed Emi staring at him, eyes blank as if she was lost in thought.

He wondered what went through that girl's mind.

He waved a hand in front of her, and she immediately shook her head and snapped back into reality. "Did I miss something?"

"No, nothing."

The classroom door opened again, and this time Origami came in. Unlike usual, she seemed to be slightly out of breath. Her eyes immediately locked onto Kurumi before drifting to Shido, Tohka, and Emi.

And then they stopped at Emi, sitting at her desk.

Mechanically, she walked over to the pink haired girl. Emi looked up at her.

"Is this your seat?" she asked, getting up. She then gave a bow. "I'm sorry for taking your spot like this. I'll leave now," she said as she closed her half-finished bento.

"...Blacksmith." Origami uttered. Shido's eyes widened. Shoot! Origami recognized her!

Origami Tobiichi was one of the best members of the AST. She held a within her heart a hatred for all Spirits, due to one having killed her parents as a child. Her hatred was perhaps only matched by her stalker-ish obsession with Shido.

To his surprise, however, Emi didn't slip up at all. "Blacksmith?" she asked, tilting her head and bringing a hand up to her cheek in the perfect image of a confused little girl. "Me?"

Origami frowned, narrowing her eyes.

Emi simply bowed and apologized again, picking up her bento and leaving. Before she exited, however, she paused and turned to Shido.

"Shido-" she began, and he braced himself for something that would cause yet _another _misunderstanding, but she stopped. "Never mind. I'll see you later." And with that, she was gone.

Thank goodness Emi seemed to understand almost anything she said would be twisted into some other meaning by the class. Apparently, Emi was... what was it called when someone knew how to act in a certain situation? Trope savvy? Genre savvy?

Wait, did that make his life a harem anime?

No, no, harem anime usually had the male lead as the over-powered knight in shining armor. In his case, it was the Spirits who were the over-powered ones. He was safe.

But being misunderstood by the public was a common appearance in harem animes, just as his class had misunderstood Emi's words earlier. Plus, he had to go around making multiple girls fall in love with him to seal their powers...

Oh no. He really was in a harem anime. And usually any girl in a harem anime was a potential love interest. Which meant Emi and Yoshino were potential harem members. He wasn't a lolicon!

Even worse, Kotori was his adoptive sister. How did he not see it? By the Spirits, she was his _little sister route_.

Tohka must be the peppy girl, while Origami was the childhood friend or something... or the yandere*? Stalking was a yandere thing, right? And she did try to kill Tohka and Yoshino. No, a cool, calm kuudere* fit her best. So she was a kuudere with some yandere tendencies.

He needed brain bleach. These thoughts never happened, nope. He remembered none of it. He was going to go home and drink alcohol - never mind he wasn't old enough - until he forgot it, or bang his head on a wall until he got amnesia.

Tohka poked the unresponsive and rapidly paling Shido. "Shido? Are you ok?"

* * *

When homeroom ended, the first thing Shido did was grab his bag and approach Kurumi. Even as Tohka and Origami watched him, he said, "Kurumi, do you have a minute?"

She nodded and followed him as he led her to the corridor outside their classroom. Only then did she ask, "Shido, is something bothering you?"

"Erm, sorry for being so sudden." He took a moment to steel himself as they continued walking to the front gate of the school. "Kurumi, are you free tomorrow?"

"Yes, I am."

"Um, well, if it's possible, um, can we go on a date then?"

Kurumi instantly brightened. "Really?"

"Uh, yeah, is that okay with you?"

"Of course. It would be my honor."

"Right. Okay, tomorrow at 10 then. I'll meet you in front of the ticket station of Tenguu station."

"Yes, I'll be waiting!"

As they went different ways to change shoes*, he waved to her. "See you tomorrow!"

"What did you say to her?" Suddenly, Origami was in front of him.

"I-It's nothing." He glanced around. Kurumi already left, while Tohka was waiting outside the building. A little farther away, it seemed Emi was waiting for him by the school gate, likely because she wasn't a student and didn't want to bother getting a pass.

"Answer me. This is important," Origami said as she stepped closer. Shido swallowed and took a step back. A little voice in the back of his mind whispered, _yandere-kuudere_.

He strangled that voice with enthusiasm.

He quickly changed shoes and tried to escape Origami's interrogation, but she grabbed a hold of his sleeve. "Please."

"Sorry, I have something at home to do! Bye!" He wrenched his hand out of her grasp and ran out. "Tohka! Let's go!"

"Eh? Did something happen, Shido?" Tohka called in surprise as she began to run to catch up to him.

He only stopped running when Emi gave him a kick in the legs as he reached her.

"Slow down," she huffed, "If you keep running like that, my short legs won't be able to keep up without using spirit energy."

"Sorry." He glanced back. Origami was watching them as Tohka caught up to him. She continued to watch as they walked out of sight. Creepy.

As soon as they reached Shido's house, Tohka split away to head to her apartment and change. Emi, who didn't go to school and thus was already in her casual clothes, followed Shido into the house to help cook. Actually, now that he thought of it, he'd only ever seen her in three sets of clothes - a dress and jacket; a t-shirt, trousers, and the same jacket; and her Astral Dress, the red-and-black armor.

Inwardly, he wondered if she was really attached to those clothes or just hated the rest of the clothes Ratatoskr prepared for her.

"So," Emi said as they sat at the dining table while waiting for the soup they were making to start boiling, "You have a date tomorrow."

"Did Kotori tell you about that?"

"Yeah," she rested her head on her hand, "I would have preferred you staying tomorrow. Yoshino's going to be sad."

Shido frowned and bit his lip. It's not like he wanted to leave Yoshino and Tohka hanging. In fact, he would have enjoyed watching movies with them.

"Make sure you get back at noon," Emi continued, "Everyone's looking forward to spending the day with you. And if they're upset, spirit energy will flow towards them through your connection and their powers will return. Also..." She trailed off.

"Also?" he asked.

"Nothing. Just focus on keeping Tohka and Yoshino as happy as you can." That didn't exactly answer any questions, but her tone implied that was all she was going to say.

The two sat in silence for a moment. Then Shido spoke up. "Hey Emi?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you normally do in your spare time?"

A pause. "What brought this up?" she asked.

"Just wondering," he responded, "Since we don't actually see each other that much. We always meet through Yoshino, so I don't know all that much about you."

Emi gave a slow nod in agreement. "That's true. Let's see..." she brought a hand to her chin in thought, "When I was living on the Fraxinus, I mostly tinkered with the machines. I fixed a few Realizers, in fact. After coming here, I spend most of my time reading."

"Huh. You can both cook and fix things. You're really reliable, aren't you?"

"I guess it does seems that way," Emi scratched her cheek in embarrassment. Now that Shido thought of it, she seemed a little weak to compliments. Then again, that seemed to be a common trend among all Spirits.

Or, wait, was it just a girl thing? He knew his teacher, Tama-sensei, was also weak to such things. But Origami wasn't...

"What about you?" she asked, "What do you normally do in your free time?"

"Ah, well, I do play some video games. I mostly help out around the house though, so I don't have too much free time."

"So that's why you were surprised when you ate my food," she realized, "Taste-wise, the food we make are comparable, but you've been cooking for years while I only have a few weeks of memories of cooking to rely on."

He laughed. Comparable? He was pretty sure she was underestimating her cooking ability. "Yeah, something like that. Maybe you were a cook in a previous life."

"Maybe I was," Emi replied thoughtfully, "Hey. Maybe I can help you out with your chores."

"Huh? Wait, I couldn't possibly-"

"It's fine. I like doing chores," Emi admitted, "It's a nice way to relax while still being productive."

"No, I still can't let you-"

She pouted. He flinched.

"Fine..." he grumbled. She beamed.

He was not a lolicon!

"Oh, yeah. Take these." She handed him... a sword and a dagger?

He observed them. The sword was rather plain, with a bronze handle and a double-edged blade that was slightly wider at the tip. The dagger screamed "magical," however. The handle was red, black, and gold. Though its blade was mostly purple, other colors drifted within. But what made the dagger so strange was the lightning bolt shape of the blade, a design he had never seen before.

"Um, I don't-"

"Take them," she insisted. "I'll teach you how to use them later, but for now, know that the sword is Ascalon, an invincible sword that protects its wielder, while the knife is Rule Breaker, a ritual dagger that cuts and disperses all magic."

"Why are you giving them to me?" he asked, looking over the two weapons again.

"You'll be dealing with plenty of Spirits," Emi answered seriously, "and some may be hostile. In such a case, you should have something to defend yourself with in case backup can't arrive in time. Ascalon is for protecting you, while Rule Breaker is for escaping should someone capture you with magic."

"I can't just introduce myself to a Spirit while carrying weapons though."

"That's not a concern with these weapons." She reached out and grabbed Ascalon. Before his eyes, the blade disappeared into golden particles of light.

"How..."

"All Noble Phantasms have the ability to dematerialize and materialize at will," she explained, as Ascalon reappeared in her hands. She placed it in his hands. "Try it now. I'm going to go check on the soup."

As she left the room, he was left with two unfamiliar magic weapons. He tried Rule Breaker first. He imagined it disappearing into particles of light, as Ascalon had just done. To his surprise, the knife began fading away immediately.

When Emi returned, he was already dematerializing Ascalon. "You figured it out already?"

"Yeah," he replied as the last few specks of light disappeared, "How's the soup?"

"It's done," she answered, "Tohka and Yoshino should be here any-"

There sound of keys being inserted into a lock, and Kotori entered the house with a call of "I'm home," black ribbons in her hair. "Getting chummy with Emi, Shido?" she commented as soon as she noticed Emi standing next to him.

"Don't tease me..." he groaned, planting his face into the table.

His phone rang. Unknown caller? He answered the it. "Hello?"

"Hello."

That voice... "Are you Origami?"

"Yes."

"How did you get my phone number?"

There was no response. She really was a stalker. _Yandere-kuudere_, the traitorous voice in his head whispered.

"Tomorrow is a holiday," Origami said after the pause, as if Shido hadn't asked her a question.

"Yeah, that's right."

"You can't be left alone."

"Huh? Where did that come from?"

"11 in the morning," she said, once again overriding his question, "I'll be waiting at the plaza outside Tenguu station."

"Eh?"

"Date."

"What?!"

"You definitely must come." And with that, she hung up without answering a single question.

"Who was that?" Kotori asked.

"It was Origami. I don't know why but she wants... a date... with me."

"What?!" Kotori yelped, "No way, is it tomorrow?"

"Y-yeah."

Kotori groaned. Emi laughed. "Looks like you have a double date ahead of you, Shido."

"Yeah. How troublesome." Once again, he planted his head on the table.

"Hey Kotori, can you finish up the dinner?" Emi asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"You've trained Shido to interact with girls, right? It's time for him to begin his training with me," Emi stated

"Huh?" Shido raised his head in surprise. "More training?"

"I just handed you a sword. I'm certainly not going to let you swing that thing like a novice and stab your own eye out, am I?"

"A sword?" Kotori asked.

Shido held up his hand, and Ascalon appeared.

"Huh. I'll have to keep note of that." Kotori's eyes narrowed. "Now that I think of it, I didn't catch your Angel..."

"Now, get up." Emi prodded him with a kendo sword, pushing him out of the chair and to his feet. "I want you to at least be able to hit something before your date tomorrow."

Shido was pretty sure that no matter how inexperienced he may be, he could at least hit a target. He followed Emi as she led him to his house's backyard. He took a moment to put on slippers before stepping out, while Emi simply took her socks off and walked on the backyard grass barefooted.

"So, how are you going to train me?" he asked.

"Like this." She raised the kendo stick with two hands. "I will be your opponent."

"Eh?!"

"If you land a single hit on me, you win. Keep Rule Breaker away for now; it's unsuited for combat. Good luck."

"W-w-wait, isn't this like throwing a baby bird out-"

The wooden sword struck at his stomach, and Shido narrowly blocked it with his blade. Still, his unprepared stance resulted in him stumbling backwards and falling.

"That's your first lesson," Emi said, backing up a few meters, "To speak in battle is a sin. Again."

Shido swallowed and stood up again. He raised his sword. "Is it really okay for me to be using a real sword - Hieee!"

He let out an undignified scream as Emi rapidly approached him again, the kendo stick already swinging down for a strike to his right shoulder. Frantically, he raised the blade to block it.

And then the kendo stick switched directions as Emi moved into a different stance that he recognized from anime. Sword pointed forward, held horizontally to the ground by one side - a stance for a rapier.

As the wooden sword jabbed forward, Shido acted on instinct, bringing Ascalon down from his shoulder to his side, deflecting the blow.

He was feeling kind of good, keeping up with Emi as it was.

And then she stepped into his guard, her other hand reaching out and wrenching the sword out of his hands.

"That's not-" he began, and then her blade struck him in the side, sending him tumbling.

"Fair?" she asked, "Battle isn't fair. Though to be honest, you shouldn't try that trick unless you have more experience. Still, did you notice?"

"Notice what?"

"As long as Ascalon was in your hands, you were able to deflect my attacks, even though I'm both faster and more experienced than you. That is one of the unique abilities of Ascalon. It guides its user's motions to best defend against attacks."

Shido blinked. "And you didn't tell me this at the beginning because...?"

"I wanted you to experience Ascalon's effect for yourself. Besides, now you understand its weakness, don't you?"

"If I'm disarmed, it no longer works," he realized.

"Bingo. If an enemy disarms you, Ascalon will not help you. Ascalon also won't work against massive attacks, like Tohka's Sandalphon or the Fraxinus' magic cannon, both of which would plow straight through. Though since such attacks usually have a charge time, just dodge. Run away if the enemy carries explosives, too."

"I understand. Are there any other tricks? Things you want me to 'experience?'" He laced his voice with just the faintest trace of sarcasm. From the twitch of the corners of her mouth, she noticed.

"Ascalon does have an ability that can be activated by shouting its name. It increases its cutting power for the next four strikes." She raised the kendo sword again, "Though you probably won't be able to use it. I recommend you first try to hold on to your sword before trying to launch any counter-attacks."

"Got it." He picked up Ascalon. "I'm read-"

Her kendo stick was already swinging down.

* * *

**changing shoes - something done in japan, students change shoes when entering or leaving the school building.**

**yandere - a character that is over-possessive of someone, though still acting lovey-dovey to that person**

**kuudere - a character that is cool and collected, despite having a softer side**


	7. Kurumi Knockdown 4

**AN: I have sinned. This chapter has a cliffhanger. It is the worst sin a writer can commit.**

**To EVA. My word. Thank you. Oh my god, thank you. You have no idea how much that was bugging me. The whole time I was writing last chapter, I kept thinking, there's gotta be a name for a kendo sword, but I couldn't for the life of me remember. Bokken. Bokken. Bokken.**

**As for ThatIdioticMelody... Emi, are you a male or a female? ****Emi: Yes.**

**Someone asked me to give Emi more versatility. Personally, I feel she has plenty. I don't know about most of you, but since you guys keep throwing out things she could use...**

**To Citations Please. I didn't mean for this to be crack... I just wanted to add some humor. So just like how Origami is a kuudere with yandere tendencies, this is a serious fic with crack tendencies (if that makes sense). I completely agree with your second point though. I read fanfics too! I want to be able to read some DaL stuff, so it's really sad that there isn't very much. I'd like it if some other readers wrote stuff too (HINT HINT ya'll). And yeah, I agree that my first few chapters were not good. Ironically, I also spent the most time on those chapters, though I was still thinking on how I wanted the fic to go at the time. Lots of things were still being hashed out, such as Emi's Angel and how Emi made it to the DaLverse, so I was forced to make details vague. BTW, have I seen you on Spacebattles?**

**Any similarities between inverse Emi and Emiya alter are completely coincidental.**

**I plan to go back and rewrite the first few chapters, so if the word count for this fic changes without any new chapters being released or anything, you guys know why.**

**Weirdly, the reviews just stopped coming a day after I released last chapter (only DescendentYI2 reviewed after that). I don't know if I should be happy that you guys pay such close attention to this story or sad that I didn't have reviews to read this whole time...**

**Edit: For you Fate fans, Berserker of Black, Bridal Chest's original user, had the ability Galvanism to convert electricity into magical power, while Emi doesn't. Also, while Berserker usually released Bridal Chest's power upwards in an artillery-style attack, she has been shown to shock Saber of Red without making direct contact with her, and Emi's using that ability. Firing electricity up like artillery is too noticeable.**

* * *

_A sea of flames, flickering and burning everything._

_Everywhere was fire and destruction. Not a building was left in the city._

_In the flames sat a glimmer of gold, a shining chalice - no, that should not be. It wasn't there before, so why was it there now?_

_What did it want?_

_What did it wish for?_

_What is your wish, ****** Emi**?_

* * *

Emi woke up bright and early.

She lay in bed for a minute, doing nothing but staring at the ceiling. Normally, she was awake the moment her eyes opened, but her mind was hazy today. She was certain she had been dreaming of something important, something about fire and a cup (a cup of fire? A goblet of fire?) but her dream was faint and difficult to remember.

A brief look at the digital alarm clock on her bed stand told her the time was 5 in the morning. She rolled out of bed and got ready for the day, changing into a t-shirt and shorts before jumping out the window and landing in the Itsukas' backyard. They were neighbors, after all.

Of course, the sight of an apparent-ten-year-old jumping out of the second story of an apartment building was probably a strange sight in modern Japan, but Emi figured that if Ratatoskr was influential enough to build an entire apartment for Spirits _and _keep the existence of Spirits a secret, they could handle a neighbor or two asking about the strange girl throwing swords around. Assuming a neighbor noticed, of course, seeing as it was _five in the morning_.

The Itsuka household was pretty big, lawn and backyard included, so Emi often meditated and practiced her archery and swordsmanship in their backyard. This was usually done alone, but today, she had a new victim/sparring buddy.

There was a loud clang as Shido Itsuka shut the backyard door behind him as he emerged from the house. He looked dead on his feet, his straight hair somewhat messy and his t-shirt rumpled.

Yes, last night Emi had ordered Shido to get up in the morning to train.

"Good morning," she called, as if it was a normal day and the sun wasn't still just coming out.

"Mrghl," came his eloquent reply.

"All right," Emi said, "We're beginning right away. Since you already worked hard last night, today there will be no sparring, only general workouts."

She took his nod as agreement and not him falling asleep.

"We'll begin with some stretching, then fifty push-ups."

"F-Fifty?!" And suddenly, Shido was wide awake and staring at her in horror.

"Yeah, fifty. I'm going easy on you cause you just started working out, so you're probably not strong enough to handle a hundred yet."

"H-hundred?! Don't be unreasonable."

"You think you can handle more?"

"Don't joke with me about that!"

"Sorry Shido, but if you want to do two hundred in the future, I'll leave that up to you. Today you'll only be doing fifty. I'll be doing a hundred beside you."

He stared at her. "You're doing a hundred?"

"...Yes?"

"But your arms are skinny."

"So?"

Silence. Emi wondered if she should have been pleased or angered by his comment.

"I-I don't think I can do fifty," he decided to say, "You're a Spirit, so your biology is probably a little different than mine."

"Ah, that makes sense," Emi nodded, "I'll have you do twenty-five instead."

"That's-" Shido sighed, "Okay, I guess that's doable."

"Great, then get started stretching!"

* * *

"T-Twenty th-three, hah, t-twenty f-four-"

"Sixty, sixty-one, sixty-two-"

"You, you're, absolutely, impossible, you know?"

"You only have one more sit-up to do, Shido. Just do it! Seventy-three, seventy-four..."

"Twenty five! I'm done!" Shido gasped for air.

"Eighty-one, good job, Shido. Take a quick break."

"How are you even doing that?" he groaned from his spot on the ground, "I only did 25 sit-ups and push ups with a break in-between and everything hurts. You went straight from a hundred sit-ups to push-ups, and you're _still_ going."

"One-hundred." Emi finally stopped. "Practice makes perfect. You're too weak." She poked his stomach, and he winced.

Was this boy really the one who could seal Spirits? Emi had originally assumed that sealing Spirits may have increased his physical abilities, since his file did say he gained abilities from Efreet, but he seemed only capable of what a regular human would be able to do.

That was disheartening. It seemed that she'd have to work harder to ensure Shido's safety.

"Did Kotori put you up to this?" he asked from his spot on the ground.

"No, I decided to do it myself." She poked him again. "Are you complaining?"

"No, not really." He managed to sit up. "I'm a little annoyed at being woken up early, but I'm not actually against training."

"Good, cause we're going to do this every morning."

Shido flopped back to the ground.

Yes, on the surface, Shido Itsuka really didn't seem to have any supernatural abilities.

* * *

Since their apartments were smaller than Shido's house, everyone agreed to hang out at his place. However, since Shido was going to leave early to plan for his date, and Kotori was going to be preparing the Fraxinus and monitoring him, Emi ended up returning to his house at nine if only to make sure Tohka and Yoshino weren't locked out and upset.

At 9:45, the doorbell rang, and Emi opened the door after seeing both of them out the window. "Hey, you two."

"Good morning!" Yoshinon sang, followed by a nod from Yoshino.

There was a "Good morning!" from Tohka as well. "Darn, I wanted to be here first!" she complained as the two of them stepped in.

Tohka was dressed in a pink blouse and shorts, while Yoshino was in a white and yellow dress, her sunhat still on her head. While Tohka was practically bursting with energy, Yoshino was more subdued, but clearly happy as well.

"Did you both have breakfast already?" she asked. Yoshino nodded, while Tohka was already looking around for Shido.

"Sorry Tohka, but Shido left to get groceries for our lunch," Emi called out to her. The purple-haired girl immediately deflated.

"Aww..." she pouted. She seemed a bit too dependent on Shido...

"Poor Shido is going to miss out," Yoshinon proclaimed.

"Well, what should we start the day with?" Emi asked, "We can't watch TV all day."

"Ooh, ooh, I know!" Tohka jumped up and down in excitement, "Lets go shopping!"

"Shopping? For what?" Emi asked.

"Food!" Tohka exclaimed.

"Clothes!" Yoshinon followed.

Emi turned to Yoshino, expecting her to add something to the others' outburst, but she just shook her head and looked down in embarrassment. "Um, what Yoshinon said..."

Some instinct within Emi was telling her that shopping was a bad idea, but she relented. "Alright, we'll go shopping in the morning and come back around noon. Shido should be back by then. Sound like a plan?"

"Yes!" Tohka and Yoshinon cheered.

"I'll call Kotori and see if we can get clearance to teleport to a mall or something." Emi fished her phone out of her pocket and dialed the number belonging to the Ratatoskr commander. "Hey, Kotori?"

_"What is it?"_ came her succinct reply.

"Can we have permission to use the Fraxinus' teleport?"

_"The teleport? What for?"_

"The mall. We're going shopping."

_"...It's only state-of-the-art technology meant for helping us deal with Spirits. Of course you can use it to go shopping."_

"Thanks, Kotori," Emi replied, deliberately ignoring her sarcasm. If it really mattered to her, she had no doubt Kotori would just say no.

_"I'll call the teleport operators to let your request through. Stand outside and get ready for teleport." _There was a pause, and then, _"By the way, which mall do you want to 'port to?"_

"How about the one by Tenguu Station?"

_"Tenguu Central Mall? Hmm," _Kotori paused, _"That's close to where Shido will be. You could probably reach Shido quickly if something happens, but there's also the chance that you might run into each other and ruin Shido's dates."_

"You can keep track of both of us from the Fraxinus through our phones, yes? You can send me a message if things are heating up. And in the worst case scenario, we can let the cat out of the bag," she said, careful to keep her side of the conversation vague to avoid raising the suspicions of the other two Spirits standing right next to her.

She didn't fully agree with it, but she respected Kotori's decision to keep former Spirits out of the fray as much as possible.

_"__Even just from a glimpse of Shido with someone else__ runs the risk of of Tohka and Yoshino getting jealous. With Spirits, we can't afford that." _After all, a Spirit was akin to a natural disaster. For one to rampage in the middle of a mall was a horrifying thought.

"I think you can trust them to not be a handful if things are explained to them. It all worked out last time, didn't it?" Yoshino really wasn't the kind to throw a tantrum out of jealousy, and Tohka had been understanding last time.

_"Fine. I've authorized you guys a teleport to Tenguu Central Mall. Be ready for teleport anytime. See ya."_ And with that, Kotori hung up.

"I managed to get us a teleport to Tenguu Central Mall," Emi told the two waiting Spirits, "We just have to wait now."

"Yay!" Tohka cheered. Then, in a calmer tone, she asked, "By the way, what's a mall?"

Yoshino and Emi stared at her. Even Yoshinon looked surprised.

"You were so hyped for something you didn't know?" Emi asked weakly.

Tohka nodded.

"W-Well-"

"A mall is a place where people can buy lots of stuff," Yoshinon explained, "There are lots of stores and restaurants. It's a great place to just wander around and see what's on sale."

"Sale?" Tohka gasped, "Does that mean we can buy lots of kinako bread if its on sale?"

"Why don't we see-"

There was a flash of light, and then they were gone.

* * *

Why?

How could this happen to her?

The day started of so simple. They were going to enjoy the day together, maybe make lunch with Shido and watch some of Yoshino's soap operas (and maybe that magical girl anime, Kaleid Liner Prisma Miyu). Shopping had been a spur-of-the-moment thing.

So why was she being treated as a dress up doll?

"How do I look?" Emi asked tiredly as she emerged from the changing room in a red dress with ribbons in her hair. A second later, Yoshino emerged from the changing room to her right in a similar blue dress with blue ribbons.

Ah, that was right. Poor Yoshino was forced to suffer this torment alongside her.

Emi, Tohka, and Yoshino had run into Tohka's classmates from Raizen High School named Ai, Mai, and Mii. The instant the two groups met, Ai, Mai, and Mii demanded that Tohka allow them to dress up Emi and Yoshino. Tohka, being the innocent person she was, agreed.

And now here they were.

"U-Um-"

"You look great!"

"So cute!"

"It's not gross at all!"

"Tohka," said Ai, a tall, blonde girl, "Thank you very much for letting us do this for your friends. It would have been a crime against humanity for these two gems to keep hiding their beauty!"

"A-A crime?" Tohka gasped, looking horrified, "In that case, I'm happy to help!"

"Tohka, it's a figure of speech," Emi interjected, "It's not an actual crime."

"Aww, look at the little cutie, trying to teach her senior!" squeed Mai. She had brown hair and eyes and was of average height, though this still meant she towered over Emi and Yoshino. She gave Emi a massive hug.

"C-Can't breathe..."

Yoshino looked conflicted, torn between helping her suffocating friend and avoiding the attention of their tormentors. Tohka was talking animatedly with Mii, the shortest of the three.

Yoshinon was silent, unable to escape the torture they were facing. Every time they changed clothes, Yoshinon had been forced to put on something that matched with Yoshino. The formerly proud puppet was now hanging limp from Yoshino's hand.

Unlike Emi, who had disliked dressing up from the start, the puppet and puppetmaster had initially been happy to cooperate. However, now that they were approaching thirty minutes of nonstop changing, even they were exhausted.

Yoshino gave a soft tug on Ai's shirt. "C-Could we maybe take a break?" she whispered, "I-I don't-"

"So cute!" Immediately, Yoshino was being strangled in the blonde's crushing grip. She let out a whimper like a kicked puppy, but it was ignored by the girl hugging her.

Emi swore Kotori was watching and laughing at them.

"We have one more outfit we want you two to try!" Ai said after she released Emi and Mai released Yoshino. Emi was certain she had said this four times already, and was not about to get her hopes up. "Here you go! Let us see once you're done changing!"

The moment she pulled out the clothes, Emi recognized what it was.

It was a two-piece _swimsuit_.

She felt like crying.

She returned to the changing room. A buzzing sound caught her attention, and she turned to her original clothes, hung on the wall. Her phone was vibrating, and a quick check revealed that Kotori had messaged her: _"We need your help. Find an isolated place so that we can extract you." _Instead of changing into the swimsuit, she changed into her regular clothes.

It was time to make her escape! The foul tyrants had subjected her for too long, but now, she was going to make her bid for freedom!

Emi was pretty sure she had been reading too much manga.

She stepped out of the changing room. "Tohka, I got a call from Kotori. I have to go see her for a bit."

Arms wrapped around her. It was Mii, the last and shortest of the trio. "Acting so mature-"

Emi chomped on her hand.

"Ow! She bit me! That's so gross!" Mii yelped as she involuntarily let go of Emi.

"I'm going to go now," she told Tohka, "I'll be back as soon as we're done with whatever it is!" As Emi ran out the front door, she could hear Tohka saying something about how she and Yoshino also had to go. At least she didn't have to feel guilty about leaving Yoshino there. She circled around the building until she was at its back.

There was a flash of light, and she was on the Fraxinus. She raced through the corridors, arriving at the bridge where Kotori was, a smirk on her face.

"You saw everything," Emi accused.

"You looked very cute in a red dress," Kotori admitted, smirk not wavering a bit, "Though I would have preferred you choose another color. Red is my color," she teased.

Emi sighed. "What's going on?" she asked, changing the subject. "Is Shido in danger?"

"Not at the moment," Kotori answered, "He's currently with Origami. What we need you to check is a Spirit reading that appeared in this park," she indicated to a map displayed on the screen above them, "As you can see, it's pretty close to the mall. In fact, it's right next to where Shido left Kurumi."

"I see. And you aren't using your cameras because...?"

"They all suddenly failed," answered a blonde haired man standing by Kotori. Kyouhei Kannazuki, the vice commander of the Fraxinus. A capable person, but his eccentricities and lack of charisma prevented him from becoming commander. Not that the man minded.

"Yes, that's why we need you to go in-person," Kotori said.

"I understand. I'll be heading down to the teleport again." With that, Emi turned back.

"Wait!" Kotori called before Emi could begin to retrace her tracks, "Take this!" She tossed her an earpiece. "We'll be able to see and hear what's happening if you put that in."

Emi quickly scanned it with her spirit energy. Finding nothing abnormal, she stuck it in her ear. "Got it." She raced back to the teleporter, and in a flash of light, her surroundings changed.

A stone path led straight through the park, with benches situated on either side. Off the path were many trees and pushes, enough that the area was dark and cast in shadows.

Still, the place would be considered peaceful if it wasn't for the smell of blood. To Emi's enhanced sense of smell, the park reeked of blood and smoke. She followed her nose, running towards the source of the smell.

She didn't even need to watch the trees closely. After just a few seconds of running, she came across splatters of blood on the right of the path.

There was a scream, and a bang.

Emi's head swiveled in the direction of the sound.

Blood.

Though darkened by the shadows, the stain over the trees was unmistakably blood.

A wheezing sound. Someone was still alive.

"Don't kill me," the voice was quiet, the words interspersed with gulps of breath, "I don't wanna die."

"You were planning on killing something, but you yourself was not ready to die?" A tilt of the head, implying curiosity. No, perhaps it was scorn.

Emi saw her. The red dress with black frills. Two guns, a musket and a flintlock. The musket pointed downward, towards a target laying on the ground that had already given up.

A Spirit. The Spirit, Kurumi Tokisaki, was killing people.

_"Emi, wait-"_

She ignored the earpiece. Her feet moved into action, her empty hands grasping onto weapons she knew were less than a second away. Kurumi, however, proved ready. The moment Emi took her first step off the path, she spun towards her and let off a shot from the musket.

A normal human cannot hope to block a bullet. For a Spirit, such a thing was child's play.

Emi continued her charge, the only indication that she had been attacked being a slight turn of her wrist as a short white sword shimmered into existence, its black counterpart appearing in her other hand. There was a clang, and the bullet was deflected into the tree behind her.

Even as Kurumi fired off two more shots while backing up, Emi deflected them with ease. And then she was in the clearing where the young man, Kurumi's former target, was. Now she could see three more bodies littering the area, their blood staining the ground.

As soon as Emi stepped into the clearing however, hands reached up out of the shadows of the trees, grabbing ahold of her legs and causing Emi to trip.

"My, my, what do we have here?" Kurumi peered down at Emi from a distance of a few meters. "A hero, aiming to save a poor soul?"

Emi gritted her teeth. Her Astral Dress burst into reality in a blast of energy, knocking away the hands. And then she hurled the twin swords at Kurumi.

"Oh my," Kurumi called as she blasted the two swords out of the air with two well-placed gunshots, "I wonder what I could have done to get this reaction from you. Does the idea of me killing people upset you this much?"

"Of course," Emi answered, "How can anyone stand by while you slaughter the innocent?"

"The innocent, huh?" Kurumi asked in a condescending tone with a smile to match, "I bet that if you knew the kind of people those men I slaughtered were, you wouldn't be quite so fast to call them innocent."

_"Emi, stop antagonizing her!"_

"What do you know about them?" Emi snapped, "I'm sure you've only just met them today."

"True, but I've seen enough to reasonably deduce they aren't exactly model citizens," she replied, "Besides, there are seven billion humans on this planet. No problem if I kill off a few million of the bad apples, now, is there?"

"K-Kurumi..." There was a soft whisper, and both of them turned to the newcomer.

"Shido," Emi acknowledged.

She saw his eyes widen as he took in the scene. The blood. The dead bodies of three more people. And she _definitely _heard when he began to scream.

Huh. Shido never struck her as a screamer.

_"Shido, get a hold of yourself!" _she heard Kotori say through their earpieces.

Both Emi and Kurumi merely watched as Shido leaned over and threw up before slowly collecting himself. Emi wanted to help him, but she was unwilling to put her weapons down while Kurumi was nearby. He began to crawl backwards, eyes still wide in terror.

"Oh my," Kurumi said softly, "It seems like I showed you something unpleasant. It's my bad for ruining the date like this."

"K-Kurumi, wh-why?" he gasped.

"I was having fun too," Kurumi murmured, "But I'll have to eat you now."

White hands emerged from her shadow, stretching towards Shido, who was still in shock. Since it was clear that he wouldn't be able to defend himself in his current state, Emi took initiative, interposing herself between them and pulling out another Noble Phantasm.

"Bridal Chest!"

A hammer appeared in her hands, bearing the appearance of a metal ball on a stick. It let out a whirr, and then with a single swing, a burst of electricity shot out, frying the hands. Once the hands had been fended off, the ball expanded slightly and began to spin, sucking in magical energy out of the air.

This was the unique ability of the Bridal Chest. Capable of absorbing spirit energy out of the surroundings and storing it as electrical power to be discharged, it was a Noble Phantasm that required little to no spirit energy. Even though Emi was unable to convert the electrical energy into spirit energy to recharge herself, the weapon was still useful as one that could launch reasonably large attacks with barely any cost.

In short, it was a weapon for a drawn out battle, or perhaps to get a feel of the opponent's abilities without expending too much energy.

"What do you want with Shido?" She pointed the mace at Kurumi, who seemed a little surprised at the new weapon.

"Just wanted a taste of him," Kurumi licked her lips, "And of the spirit energy of two Spirits inside him."

"I see. You want the spirit energy flowing throughout Shido. Is it safe to assume I will have to force you to leave?"

"Yes, probably. _Can_ you force me to leave, though?" she asked, a playful grin on her face.

_"Combat really is unavoidable, huh?" _Kotori groaned. Emi ignored her, focusing entirely on Kurumi.

"We'll see!" She bolstered her legs with reinforcement and shot forward. As a Spirit, Emi possessed abysmal physical stats, but under reinforcement, she closed the distance between herself and Kurumi in an instant and went on the attack.

Kurumi narrowly dodged to the side, barely avoiding another blast of lightning followed by a whirr as the weapon immediately sucked back in a portion of the used energy. Emi followed up her attack with a horizontal swing that discharged another blast. Once again, Kurumi evaded by leaping over the blast, leaving it to crash through several trees.

Kurumi launched a few shots, but Emi answered with another swing of the Bridal Chest, the resulting attack not only plowing through the bullets but forcing the enemy Spirit to take evasive action once again.

Before Emi could charge, however, hands sprung out of her own shadow and grasped at her ankles. She began to sink into the shadow, as if being devoured alive.

It was nothing to worry about.

She raised the Bridal Chest, this time pointing it straight towards the heavens. The ball on its end spun, once more releasing a whirr.

And then Emi lit up. Electricity poured out from the Bridal Chest, frying everything around it. Even Emi was not spared, forcing her to rely on reinforcement to bolster her defenses.

A large amount of energy had been released in the attack, but it had successfully destroyed the hands grasping at her feet. With another click and a whirr, the Bridal Chest once again regained the energy released.

Due to the combination of reinforcement and the Astral Dress, Emi had weathered the self-destructive attack without injury. Both of them were unharmed, but while Emi was still brimming with energy, Kurumi was looking a little tired. It was understandable, seeing as Emi had forced her to continuously dodge about while expending little energy herself.

That, and Emi was pretty fit.

"My, my, you certainly are aggressive," despite being on the losing side of the battle, she didn't seem worried at all, "Such a large attack, just because I was a little grabby."

"A little grabby? It seemed almost like you were trying to eat me instead of Shido." Speaking of the boy, he was still behind her, though he had managed to get to his feet. Emi took the moment to survey the surroundings. Despite having exchanged several strikes, their clash had only spanned the course of a few seconds. Yet, around them, trees were uprooted and benches were destroyed.

"Well, I admit I was a little curious about what you would taste like," Kurumi said, "Isn't that ri-"

Schk!

Both combatants were caught off guard as a glowing sword sprouted from Kurumi's chest. As Kurumi's limp body fell to the ground, both Emi and Shido's eyes rose to her murderer.

"Mana?" Indeed, dressed in a wiring suit was Shido's self-proclaimed sister, Mana Takamiya.

"Shido, stay back," Emi ordered.

"I'm sure you're confused, big brother, but I must also ask you to stay away," Mana said, pointing her sword at Emi, "This person is dangerous."

"No more than you," Emi retorted, the Bridal Chest continuing to hum as it stored energy.

"I don't want to hear that from a Spirit like you," Mana shot back, "You may have tricked me last time we met, but now that I know what you are, don't expect me to let you go."

"Oh?" she hefted the mace. "And I was about to let _you_ go. I have no intentions of fighting you, but I also will not leave Shido alone in your presence." It was not in her taste to engage in pointless battles.

"Huh?" Mana frowned, "What's that supposed to mean? You're the one more likely to do something to Shido, _Spirit_!"

"You may be his sibling, but I don't know anything about you. Everything about you is fishy, from the photo that shouldn't exist to the fact that you appeared almost right after Shido became involved in this Spirit business."

"Huh?" If anything, she was looking more confused. "Shido knows about Spirits?"

"W-wait! Both of you!" Shido stepped forward from behind Emi and put a hand in front of her. "Mana, Emi is a friend. And Emi, please don't hurt Mana."

"Didn't want to anyways," she grumbled.

"But brother! That person is a Spirit! She's a natural disaster responsible for the spacequakes!"

"Emi hasn't hurt anyone! She may be a Spirit, but she has been living among humans for a while without causing any trouble at all!" Shido protested, "I've known she was a Spirit for weeks, and she's done nothing to me! If anything, she's been helping me out! She's my friend!"

That was a little touching. Shido already thought of her as a friend?

Mana actually paused to think, before shaking her head. "Even so, I must kill her. Spirits cause spacequakes. As long as Spirits exist, the spacequakes will never end."

"But Emi _hasn't_ caused any spacequakes!"

"Just because she hasn't caused any yet does not mean she won't cause any in the future, whether intentionally or unintentionally." Mana began to approach them, bloodstained sword held to her side. "I have to kill her anyways."

"That doesn't make sense!" he shouted, "Would you kill a kid just because his parent taught him to use a gun? Or kill a chef just because he knows his way with a knife? No, even more than that, why are you so insistent on _killing_ her? Aren't you younger than me? How can you say something like that?"

"Because I'm used to it." Mana stared back at him. "Kurumi Tokisaki is an immortal killer. No matter how many times she is defeated, she always reappears and begins killing again. The only one who can stop a Spirit like her is me. I have killed her countless times, and I will continue to kill her and any other Spirits I encounter to protect everyone else."

"D-Don't say that. Each time you kill, your heart, your humanity, will wither. If you keep killing to save others, who will save you in the end? Please, Mana, stop."

For some reason, Emi was certain she had heard similar words before.

_It's just hypocrisy to value everyone else over yourself._

Mana sighed. "Sorry, Shido, but I cannot oblige. At any rate, the AST will be here soon. It would be troublesome if you were found. Let's talk about this later, when time is on our side, okay?"

"Wait-"

"Go, Shido," Emi interrupted him, "Get out of here. She isn't wrong that it would be a hassle if you were found by the AST. I'll retreat once I know you're safe."

"No, I still-"

"Get out of here, or I'll throw you out of here," Emi threatened, "This is going to devolve into a fight soon, and even with Ascalon, it is not place for normal humans. Think of it this way," she said, seeing that he was still hesitating, "Having you around only makes it harder for me to fight, because I'll have to protect you as well."

"Emi..." Shido gulped, "Then, please, don't hurt Mana too much."

"Wasn't going to." She shot him a grin, "What, do you take me to be that kind of person? Now, run!"

"Yes!" he turned and left the clearing.

"Now," Emi turned her attention back to Mana. The mace crackled with power, ready to discharge at a moment's notice. "You wanted to kill me?"

"Yes, sorry. You didn't seem like a bad person, last time we met." Contrary to her previous words, Mana was now sporting an apologetic expression.

"Hahaha. Any chance you'll forget about this and let me leave?"

"No, sorry."

And with that, they charged.


	8. Kurumi Knockdown 5

**AN: EEEEEEP! Dhaturas?! The one who wrote Promise of Winter?! It's such an honor! Uh, shoot, now I don't know what to say... Um, I hope I don't disappoint? Also, I'm 90% sure I saw you on discord!**

**To ThatIdioticMelody, that thing has a name?! I had no idea... and Hideyoshi is that brown-haired, gender-neutral person with a twin, right? I remember seeing a meme saying, "he's a girl."**

**Jeeze, you guys. Telling me you want Mana and Emi to get along somehow, but also telling me to have Emi kick Mana's butt... what's a writer to do? To be honest, though, there's no way Mana was going to be able to hold up against Emi.**

**To Citations Please, I didn't mean to be confrontational or anything! I just wanted to set the facts straight. This isn't a completely crack fic (or else I wouldn't spend nearly as much time thinking out the plot...). And I think someone else said my earlier chapters were lacking in depth or something... and I might've mixed that up with you. Sorry! (Insert bowing emoji here, cause I don't know how to do it)**

**Sorry, no lightning trees falling from the sky. Something like that can't be used in an un-evacuated city.**

**I found La Black Luna to be a fitting Noble Phantasm for Emi to have. After all, it was given away by Logistilla of Avalon, and as Fate fans know, all versions of Emiya have their ties with Avalon.**

**Unlike most fanfics, where Shirou/Emiya/Emi dismisses his weapons, here she just dematerializes them to use later. There's no energy drain in this world, after all.**

**An OC appears! I haven't decided if his story is going to run parallel to the main story or if they're going to intersect. We'll see. He was initially meant to cuss a lot, but I don't cuss, so its weird for me to type/say profanities.**

**Ugh, school. I haven't been able to rewrite the Yoshino chapters yet.**

**Edit: Thanks to PatrickStarSpongy, for pointing out that it's Rho Aias, not Rho Ais. I've been reading too many Danmachi fanfics.**

* * *

Mace met sword.

Emi effortlessly smashed through Mana's attack. It was only the logical result - how could a sword meet the crushing power of a mace?

Nevertheless, Mana successfully diverted Bridal Chest, only to give a small "Eep!" as the weapon zapped her. A normal human would have been felled by the shock, but it seemed that she either had an internal territory or some form of magic resistance.

Expected, but a shame nevertheless.

Emi pressed forward, swinging Bridal Chest in a horizontal sweep. Mana narrowly backtracked out of range.

They exchanged a few more blows, but it became clear very quickly to both of them that Mana had no way of turning the tables. The mace forced her to go on the defensive, and with the electricity sapping her strength, there was no way for her to win a close-quarters fight.

So instead of blocking Emi's next attack, an upward swipe, Mana called out her Territory and tanked the blow. Emi realized what she was doing as soon as the green bubble appeared around her, but continued with her attack.

Mana probably had been hoping to use the impact to make some distance. Emi was planning on giving her that distance, though just a little more distance than she probably wanted.

A Spirit is a being for which magic comes naturally. As beings who regularly controlled the powers of Angels, Spirits could hold a lot of magic power without reaching their limits.

Emi _fully_ reinforced her arms.

She struck Mana with all her might, discharging a large burst of electricity to give her strike a little extra power. Mana's Territory held against the devastating blow, but the attack sent her opponent flying, not out of the clearing, but straight out of the park. As Emi watched, Mana and her Territory flew away and over the mountains that surrounded Tenguu City.

After all, Emi had no intention of letting Mana land somewhere else in the city and possibly hurt someone by crash landing.

It looked like she had scored a home run. It was confirmed: Bridal Chest was the best baseball bat.

Still, she had to admit the protection the a wizard's Territory offered was amazing. She'd have to see if there were ways to easily break through it or bypass it.

Of course, her fight wasn't over yet. Mana had mentioned the AST was on their way, and as Emi blocked the attack that had been aimed for her back, it seemed she was right.

"Blacksmith," snarled Origami Tobiichi, her lightsaber pressing against Emi's Bridal Chest, "We meet again."

"Hello."

"It was you, wasn't it?" Origami scowled. She might have looked pretty if not for the ugly expression. "I met you yesterday."

"Perhaps," Emi responded, "Or perhaps you met my twin sister."

"Spirits don't have family!" she shouted as she disengaged, "Family is where the heart is. All you heartless monsters do is destroy!"

First Mana, then this... Origami. And if she stayed long enough, she had no doubt Mana would return for round two. How bothersome.

There was the sound of gunfire, and AST members fired down at her from above.

Plus, there were these people. She reinforced herself against the bullets.

She began to run through her mental list. What could she use? She needed to get away without causing too much damage to her surroundings. Well, it should be fine to cause a little damage if she was testing a few things, right?

Even as she held the Bridal Chest, another object began to appear in her other hand. No blade, no handle, it was a simple black horn. Since it was not a weapon, it cost significantly more spirit energy to create. This was something she would probably keep around and reuse rather than letting it disintegrate.

She raised the horn to her lips and shouted it's name. Even as Origami approached her and the AST began firing a second round drowning out her voice, the horn registered its name: "La Black Luna!"

And Emi blew.

It was a deafening sound, one that sounded simultaneously like the roar of a dragon, the wail of a child, the scratching of chalk and the screech of a braking train. It was a blast that robbed all enemies of hearing, throwing them into disarray. It could turn weaker enemies to dust - though Emi intentionally reduced its power so as not to kill anyone. This was the power of the hunting horn that had belonged, in legend, to Astolfo, one of the knights of Charlemagne.

Still, Emi was mildly surprised and impressed when Origami charged through the blast.

She knew Origami was stronger than her fellow members of the AST. The blade in her hand told of countless hours of learning every weapon available to the AST, of her undying hatred of Spirits, even if it could not tell Emi the cause of that hatred.

She didn't expect that hatred would be enough for her to push through the effects of the horn though. At least La Black Luna had stunned the other AST members, some of them knocked out from subsequently colliding with the ground or each other, so Emi knew this was a weapon that could bypass Territories. If sound could affect wizards within their Territories, then there was no doubt that there were other means to do so as well.

Regardless, Emi still had to deal with the single charging warrior. She let the horn dematerialize, ready to be called later, and prepared Bridal Chest. As Origami approached, Emi brought the hammer down.

Origami dodged to the side.

And then Bridal Chest discharged again.

In an instant, Origami was thrown to the side as electricity burst out from the mace. Despite this, her Territory flickered into view around her, proving that it had shielded her from worst of it, and she landed on her feet.

Undaunted, she pulled out a small pistol and began to fire. Despite the bullets containing trace amounts of magic power, likely meant to help pierce magical defenses, none of them managed to draw blood from Emi's reinforced skin.

"You won't get away!" Mana yelled as she literally fell from the sky. Her blade planted itself where Emi would have been if she hadn't stepped back.

They were in close proximity, which gave Emi the perfect opportunity to sock Mana in the face. Hard.

The other girl was once again sent flying. Just as Emi turned to leave yet _again_, Origami came charging at her, lightsaber in her hand.

These two were incredibly tenacious, weren't they?

Instead of using Bridal Chest as a weapon, she let it dematerialize as well as she traced a new weapon.

Actually, weapon was a bit of an exaggeration. It was really just a bokken, the same one that she used to train Shido. Her bokken, reinforced by spirit energy, clashed against Origami's lightsaber. The two were face-to-face, seemingly in a deadlock-

And then Emi stepped into her guard, and wrenched the lightsaber out of Origami's hand with her own hand. In short, the exact same move she pulled on Shido the night before.

Unlike before, however, she didn't follow her disarming with a strike from her bokken. Instead, she grabbed ahold of Origami and threw her at Mana, just as the blue-haired girl was getting up. The two collided in a pile of entangled limbs.

_S_he turned to leave, only for some of the AST members who had recovered to begin firing at her. _Again._

Bringing out La Black Luna again, she blew the horn. And then she blew it two more times in Mana and Origami's direction, just to make sure they stayed down.

Mana stood up again anyways.

Seriously. There was a limit to Emi's patience. She was considering bringing out the Noble Phantasm No Face May King, with the ability to conceal her appearance, sound, and scent, and just running. Still, if they were going to keep standing up, maybe she could test another weapon on them.

"There's no way I'll let a Spirit get away!" Mana called as she leaped into the air, the various instruments attached to her suit beginning to whir to life. Emi traced yet another Noble Phantasm - Rho Aias, a pink flower-shaped shield with seven layers, each with the strength of a castle wall - in the nick of time as a rain of bullets, rockets, and lasers crashed into the barrier.

From behind the barrier, Emi traced another Noble Phantasm - Gae Dearg, a spear crafted by fairies that could pierce any magecraft. With a flick of her wrist, she sent Rho Aias forward, using it as a projectile that Mana was forced to dodge to the side to avoid. In the brief moment where Mana wasn't attacking, she lobbed Gae Dearg at her.

When the spear approached Mana, the same green barrier appeared, ready to defend against the attack - or so it seemed. As soon as the spear made contact, a small hole was ripped open in the Territory, allowing Gae Dearg to pass through unimpeded. The blade struck one of the weapons attached to her suit, sending her into a disorienting spin.

With Mana unable to dodge, Emi materialized La Black Luna again and let loose another blast, sending the girl to the ground.

Without missing a beat, Emi pivoted on her right foot, Bridal Chest materializing in her hands to strike Origami, who had tried to sneak up on her. The only indication of surprise on the AST member's face was her widening eyes before she too was thrown into a bench and didn't get up.

To make sure they stayed down, Emi gave them both another blast of La Black Luna, then let the horn dematerialize. With quick steps, she approached Mana. The girl was on all fours, struggling to get up, but she didn't react when Emi picked up Gae Dearg from its position a few feet away from her. Most likely, La Black Luna had rendered her deaf.

A gunshot struck Emi from behind. Turning, she found yet _another _AST member - not Origami - had risen. Her legs were shaking, and she looked downright terrified, but clenched tight in both hands was a small pistol.

Emi felt a little guilty now.

Still, she reinforced herself and sped towards the foe and knocked her out with a swift chop. Just because she would feel a little bad, didn't mean she was interested in letting the AST know which way she ran. Knowing Mana and the AST, they'd be after her in a minute. So as she made her escape, she created a green cloak.

It was another Noble Phantasm, No Face May King, having once belonged to Robin Hood. It allowed its user to turn invisible and scentless by applying the concept of "becoming one with nature." While it didn't hide her magical readings, it was still a good Noble Phantasm. Even if the AST followed her by reading her spirit energy, it would likely still confuse them if she remained invisible.

She didn't stop until she made some distance between herself and the downed Spirit hunters. After reaching an open street outside the park, she dematerialized No Face May King and reached up to her earpiece. "Hello? This is Emi? Can you teleport me up?"

No response. After pulling it out to inspect, she found it had been fried, likely due to the Bridal Chest. With a sigh, she pulled out her phone, which was amazingly still intact, to dial the Fraxinus. She'd have to ask if the phone was magically reinforced.

_"Hello?" _ Came Kotori's familiar voice.

"Hey, it's Emi." Not for the first time, she wondered what her true name was.

_"I can tell," _came her reply, _"We have you on video. Impressive camouflage, by the way. We'll beam you up to the Fraxinus right now."_

There was a flash of light, and Emi was gone.

* * *

Mana groaned, the sound strange in her ears. Or rather, she couldn't hear the sound at all. The horn had rendered her deaf. She hoped it was only temporary; the loss of any sense was crippling for a fighter.

She looked up around the clearing, but there was no sight of Blacksmith. Instead of standing tall and preparing for another bout, she let herself stumble her way over to Origami, who too seemed to be having trouble standing on her feet.

Mana had no idea Blacksmith would be so powerful, but evidently she was. With the sheer power she had used in their initial exchange of blows, there was no doubt she could have crushed her with sheer strength. Worse still, she had created those objects that were capable of matching weaker Angels. For Blacksmith to have multiple Angels was impossible - the only Spirit to have multiple Angels was Deus, and she was an exception, being the First Spirit.

Still, given the power of the - what should they be called? Magic tools? - magic tools, it could be inferred that the Angel was even stronger.

Unless... they were created from the Angel?

Origami's lips moved in a motion she recognized as a thank you, but her ears still couldn't register a sound. Around them, members of the AST were waking up or standing up.

Mana continued to ponder. If the magic tools were created from the Angel, then the Angel must be based around creating objects with magical properties. Blacksmith had created a horn, a bokken, a mace, and a spear.

From what she saw, the horn released magic-powered sound attacks. She'd have to adjust her Territory to block sounds above a certain intensity threshold.

The bokken... did it have any abilities? Perhaps hardness? The wooden sword had stood against Origami's light blade, after all.

The mace... was complex. it seemed able to discharge electricity, but it had also given off a humming sound a few times during their fight. A second ability? Was it possible Blacksmith could... "enchant" her magic tools with multiple effects? She wasn't sure if this weapon had a good counter, other than to block its smaller attacks with a Territory and straight up avoid getting struck head-on.

The last was the spear. It had broken through her Territory easily, despite her Territory having deflected far stronger attacks. Was it capable of piercing any defense? If so, she absolutely could not allow Blacksmith to use the spear too often.

She definitely was not letting Blacksmith escape again. Who knew what a Spirit that powerful could do to humanity? Mana absolutely had to... had to... kill it?

Why was she so fixated on killing Spirits?

Emi had been a good person, helping Shido around the house and protecting him from Kurumi. She must have trusted him enough to tell him that she was a Spirit too, so why did she want to kill her?

_"Every time you kill, your heart, your humanity will wither."_

Why was she so fixated on the idea that it had to be her?

Her head hurt horribly. Something didn't add up. It was times like this she wished she remembered what happened to her.

"Hmm?" She noticed a small speck of white on the ground. She reached down and picked it up. It seemed like some kind of earpiece, with 'Asgard' written on the side. It must have been an Asgard Electronics earpiece that someone left behind.

Out of curiosity, she raised it to her ear, but couldn't hear a thing. The earpiece must have been lost and then broken while out in the environment.

She pocketed it.

* * *

Shido made his way through the crowd, searching for the store he had left Origami at. As he stepped through an alleyway shortcut, however, there was a flash and the familiar sensation of floating, and he was aboard the Fraxinus.

To his surprise, Kotori was in the teleporter room, as if she had been waiting for him. Though she was dressed in her commander uniform, complete with black ribbons in her hair, she was biting her lip in an uncharacteristic expression of worry.

...At least, uncharacteristic for her commander persona. Normal Kotori worried and cried all the time.

"Kotori?" he asked, as she approached him, "Why did you-"

"Dummy." She gripped his shirt with both hands while refusing to meet his eyes. Instead, she was staring at her feet. What was going on?

_Little sister_ _route, _his mind helpfully supplied.

_Shut up_, he told it.

"Kotori, are you-OW!"

Suddenly, Kotori kicked him in the shin, causing him to tumble backwards. "Ow, what was that for?"

"That's for making me worry," she snapped, "You're my-" She stopped mid-sentence, then shook her head as if to get rid of a thought. "You're an important person, you know? Without you, there's no way Ratatoskr can save Spirits!"

"Sorry," he muttered.

"_Be_ sorry," she groused, "Next time, when things look dangerous, you book it, got it?" Then under her breath, she muttered, "Stupid brother. Making me scream over the earpiece."

His eyes widened. He didn't feel the earpiece! Indeed, when he moved his hand up to check his ear, the earpiece was gone.

"The earpiece is missing," he informed her, "And what about Origami?"

"Origami left to join her AST teammates. She likely is engaging Emi right now," Kotori told him. She turned, leaving the teleport room, and Shido followed her. "And the earpiece isn't a problem. It probably fell out during the chaos down there."

"Yeah, it seems so." His mind wandered, thinking back to when it possibly could have fallen-

_Blood splattered the trees._

He swallowed.

"What is it?" In front of him, Kotori had come to a stop. He seemed to have stopped walking without noticing, and now she was looking back at him with an eyebrow raised. "Don't tell me you're having an epiphany or something equally stupid."

"Kotori, is what we're doing correct?"

"Hmm? What are you talking about?"

He looked down at his feet, unable to meet her inquisitive eyes, and clenched his hands into fists. "...I agreed to save the Spirits because they had no control over their powers."

"That's right."

"But Kurumi," his nails dug into his palm, "She... she killed someone."

It wasn't an accident. Kurumi had killed those people, of her own free will.

_Three dead bodies littered the ground-_

"I... I don't think I can save her," he managed to say, and then it was like a dam burst, "It's been smooth sailing up until now, since Tohka and Yoshino are good people. They wanted to be saved! And Emi, Emi's eager to help! All I had to do was be there! But Kurumi-"

Kotori grabbed his collar, pulled his head closer, and slapped him.

"Don't say such useless words so easily!" she yelled, "You're giving up here? Don't you dare give up because of a single setback! If you give up now, Kurumi will keep killing! Mana will keep hunting her! Do you understand?" She stared into his eyes. "Only you can stop their cycle of killing."

That's right. The only person with the power to seal Spirits was Shido Itsuka.

The only person who could save Kurumi was Shido Itsuka.

The only person who could break the cycle was Shido Itsuka.

He understood.

He didn't want Kurumi to be killing, nor did he want Mana to be hunting her. There was only one thing he could do.

"In order to stop Kurumi from killing more people, and to stop Mana from killing Kurumi, I must save her," he murmured, "I understand. That's what you want, right?"

Kotori nodded.

So why did she look so conflicted?

"Kotori-"

Someone bumped into him, and he turned to find Emi, rubbing her forehead.

"Ow," she muttered, before looking up and seeing both of them. "Did I interrupt something?"

"That-"

"No," Kotori cut in, "We just finished our conversation." She turned away. "Come with me, Emi. We'll debrief you. Shido, you are dismissed." Without another word, she began to walk away.

Emi shot him a glance. "What did you do now?"

"I don't know..."

She sighed. "Well, Kotori's Kotori, I suppose. She'd never admit something's wrong. Anyways, I'll see you this afternoon." With that, she went to catch up to Kotori.

"Yeah," Shido muttered.

* * *

Emi had to do some running to catch up to Kotori on her way to the command room. She arrived just in time to enter the room after the red-haired commander.

As soon as she entered the room, however, she was greeting by an applause from some of the crew members.

"Good job down there, little miss!" A tall, burly man shouted from one of the workspaces.

"Nice work protecting Shido!" called a woman holding a voodoo doll.

"Alright, that's enough out of you lot!" Kotori shouted, banging her table and quieting the crew, "We can celebrate once Nightmare has been sealed! For now, back to your stations!" With that, the crew returned to their jobs, some of them grumbling good-naturedly.

"So, debriefing?

"Yes, well," she gave a small cough, "Overall, you were successful in defending Shido from both Mana and Kurumi. After fighting them yourself, what's your opinion on their strength?"

"Mana's hard to take down," was her first comment, "Her Territory is very sturdy, and if I didn't have the means of bypassing and piercing it, she would have been a hassle to fight. Still, I doubt she can match a Spirit. Kurumi, on the other hand..."

"Yes?" Kotori raised an eyebrow.

"She didn't feel like a Spirit."

"N-Not a Spirit?"

Emi scratched her cheek in embarrassment. "Ah, that's not quite right. Spirit energy is a little different from the magical energy produced by humans. Kurumi clearly fought using spirit energy, but her energy output was far too low to be a Spirit. In terms of amount alone, I could possibly mistake her as a human born with particularly large magical energy reserves. I could easily beat her. It's suspicious."

"I agree." Kotori leaned back in her chair. "We've managed to pinpoint which Spirit she is. She's Nightmare, the so-called Worst Spirit, for her brutal murders. As for Mana... Unfortunately, we're still conducting our investigation. At the moment, our DNA tests managed to find that she certainly is Shido's sibling, though little else."

"Really?" That was a surprise... and yet, Emi didn't feel shocked at all. "That doesn't mean we should let our guard down."

"Yes, until we know her past, there's no telling what her motives are. But I want to move on to our last topic. You."

"Of course." This wasn't a surprise at all. Emi had been pulling out all kinds of magical tools left and right, so it made sense that they would question her. "Shoot."

"What's your Angel?" Kotori began.

"Don't know."

"Don't know?"

"Don't know."

"Cut to the chase," the commander of the Fraxinus stood, "We both know Spirits are born with the ability to use their Angels."

"And I'm telling you, I woke up without any knowledge of how to use my Angel at all," Emi responded.

"Then how did you make all those different magical tools?"

"Noble Phantasms," she corrected.

"Pardon?"

"The magical tools I summon are Noble Phantasms," she repeated, "Where I got the name, I don't know."

Kotori huffed. "Fine! Noble Phantasms. How do you create Noble Phantasms?!"

Emi shrugged. "I just think of its appearance, its shape, and its qualities and it happens. I don't know what else to tell you."

Kotori scrutinized her, before she seemed to come to a realization and sat down. "Have you considered that your Noble Phantasms may be a part of your Angel?"

Emi pondered her response. She could play dumb, or she could open up and reveal what she knew about her ability.

She trusted Shido. She trusted Tohka and Yoshino. She trusted Kotori.

But she did not trust Ratatoskr, whose leaders she had never met. And so...

"No, I haven't," she lied.

Kotori nodded as if her suspicions were confirmed. "So while your knowledge of your Angel may be scrambled, and you're unable to manifest your Angel, you can still tap into its abilities," she said, "While strange, it certainly seems more likely. Some Spirits are summoned without complete knowledge of their Angel, and there are Spirits who don't need to summon their Angel to tap into its power. Still, it doesn't make sense as to why you can't summon your Angel at all."

Emi shrugged. Let her come to her own conclusions. If she asked nothing, Emi wouldn't say anything.

"One last thing. Do you remember anything about the person who turned you into a Spirit?"

Emi blinked. "No," she answered.

Kotori placed a hand over her mouth in a thinking position. "I see. That's all."

"Alright. I'll be off, making sure Shido doesn't make a mess of the playdate Yoshino arranged then." With that, Emi turned and left. As she walked down the halls of the Fraxinus, however, something was nagging her. Had she forgotten something important?

* * *

Eiji Hisakawa stumbled into an abandoned store. It was his gang's hideout, though now it was just his. After all, everyone else was dead.

"Damn it," he cursed even as he collapsed into a chair and began to cry, "That damn psycho girl..."

He remembered the crazy girl in the red and black dress. How she had unhesitatingly killed his friends.

For all his outward hate, however, he knew she was out of his league. There was no way he could possibly take her on.

But, the other girl could. The one with pink hair, who had used the hammer, had pushed back the psycho in the black dress. She could fight the gun girl, with whatever magic the two of them used. It had been during their fight that he had escaped.

There was definitely some kind of magic involved, since both of them had pulled large weapons out of nowhere. Magic was real, and he going to learn how to use it.

"Guys..." he whispered to the empty room, as if his friends were still there, "I'll definitely avenge you."


	9. Kurumi Knockdown 6

**AN: I'm back! Sorry for my absence. I've been dealing with college applications, which are a real pain. This chapter was sitting half finished for quite a while. I just submitted a couple of applications, so as a little reward for myself, I finished this! I'll probably go quiet again until December, when the rest of my applications should be done. Still, depending on how the following months pan out, I may or may not be able to release another chapter. I don't want to make any promises I might not be able to keep.**

**Ugh, another sloppy chapter. I just want to get this out. I'm writing at 1 in the morning. I was hoping to finally get a good night's sleep... Eh, I'll revise it as necessary tomorrow, when you guys will no doubt point out all the flaws in your reviews. For now, I'm dead to the world...**

**Yes, Eiji is an OC.**

**To Bludflag: Aren't traced objects opposed by the world or something? I assumed this would mean that they required an upkeep, prior to Emi's arrival in the DaL world. Sorry if I'm wrong; as I've said, I'm not knowledgeable about Fate mechanics.**

**The significantly higher energy cost for tracing non-weapon items was intentional. It isn't a matter of multiplying the cost of normal tracing, but something else. A hint for the future.**

**It has been confirmed in DaL canon that Spirit energy is distinguishable from the energy wizards use, so... *shrug.**

**I'm sorry for Tohka's spotlight getting stolen by Yoshino! I just... I admit, I find Yoshino easier to write. Tohka and Yoshinon are harder. It's rooted in how I write my characters.**

**Apparently, I'm an idiot. There's an option in the settings to turn off review moderation. I never noticed. For you guest reviewers, that means your reviews should now appear immediately instead of having to wait for me to pass them.**

**I want to note that a wizards greatest strength is the defensive power of their Territory. Territories have been shown in DaL to take a lot of beating, and wizards are often defeated by exhaustion or fatigue (Origami burning out from using the Licorice weapons) rather than damage, with a few exceptions. Said exceptions usually involve Spirits. I believe in canon Kurumi was the only Spirit to pierce a Territory without an Angel, though I'm not sure. Most other incidents are Angel-related, and even then, I can only think of the Yamai twins shooting down the Arbatel with Raphael.**

* * *

Emi was deep in thought as she headed towards Shido's house.

Her mind was on the latest enemy Spirit. Kurumi Tokisaki, known as Nightmare, was registered as the Worst Spirit with the highest kill count. She'd been active for years, murdering people by the thousands. Despite her notoriety, her Angel was still unknown - perhaps the most worrying part about her. To conduct so many killings and catch the attention of both Ratatoskr and the AST, all without the use of an Angel...

Unless she was like Emi herself? Did she have trouble manifesting her Angel?

She had a light headache. Seeing Kurumi had brought upon a wave of nostalgia and familiarity... and yet, Emi was certain she had never met Kurumi before. Someone similar in her past? Unfortunately, in her distracted state, she tripped over a man in a wheel chair as they simultaneously rounded a corner. She whirled around to give her apologies.

"I'm sor-"

"Are you al-"

Both of them stopped when they realized the other was in the middle of speaking, prompting a moment of silence before the man cracked a smile.

Now that she had a better look, she could see the man was around his 50's, with white hair and a beard. He wore a set of glasses and a brown suit and exuded a grandfatherly aura that would have made young children want to set themselves on his lap and ask him to read them stories.

Emi was not a child.

She wasn't tempted!

Behind him stood a girl with Nordic features, blonde hair and blue eyes. While the man seemed to always have a soft, kind smile, the woman had a perpetual poker face. She too had glasses and was dressed in a suit. Judging from her hands on the back of the man's wheelchair, she was likely his caretaker.

"Are you alright, little girl?" The man asked.

Emi got to her feet. "Thank you, but I'm fine. Sorry, I should have been paying attention."

"No, no, it's my bad. If I injured a cute girl like you, I might fall go to hell," the man joked.

At least, Emi hoped he was joking. That comment was a little weird.

The man hit his palm as if remembering something. "Now that I think of it, since we're already talking, there is something I wanted to ask. Do you know where the public hospital is?"

"Ah," Emi nodded but frowned, "It's a bit far. Do you want me to walk you there?" It should only take fifteen minutes or so.

"Oh, sure. Thank you. Japanese people really are kind."

Emi shook her head. "No, this is nothing. Don't worry about it." They began to move forward, with Emi slightly ahead of the man. "Before I forget, what's your name?"

"Call me Baldwin," the man answered with the same smile, "And this lovely lady is Karen." He indicated to the woman behind him.

"Nice to meet you," the woman replied without a hint of emotion.

"I'm Emi," she introduced herself. Before they could ask another question, she added "Before you ask, I'm fifteen."

The man - Baldwin - chuckled. "Pardon me, but you really don't look your age."

"I get that a lot," Emi replied humorlessly, "People tend to guess that I'm around ten or eleven years old."

"Indeed," Baldwin's smile turned into an amused grin, "People tend to think I'm younger than I actually am as well. They tend to overlook the fact that I'm but an old man in a wheelchair."

_"I_ most certainly won't overlook that," his caretaker - Karen - grumbled as she continued to push him, drawing out a chuckle from Baldwin, "He himself seems to often forget that he can no longer go prancing around like a young adult."

"I'm hardly prancing around, Karen dear," Baldwin said, to which she simply huffed. "So Emi, how long have you been living here?" Baldwin asked, returning attention to her.

"Hmm..." Emi tiled her head and gave it some thought. "A few months? I'm actually pretty new to Tenguu City. What about you?"

"I only just arrived," the man answered, "I have some relatives in Tenguu City, so I stop by from time to time. Still, the place changes every time I'm here. It's amazing, isn't it? Just a month can go by and entire buildings have been replaced across the city."

It was true. As a city constantly experiencing spacequakes and battles between Spirits and wizards, buildings and places were destroyed and rebuilt all the time.

"Yeah, it's amazing. It feels almost like a magic trick," she joked, "To see a destroyed building replaced overnight."

Balwin laughed again. "Yes, it would seem like magic, yes?" There was a lull in the conversation before Baldwin spoke up again. "Say, Emi, if magic was real, what would you do with it?"

"Help people." She smiled. "I would, without a doubt, use magic to help other people."

"Oh? Why? Most people would use it for personal goals."

"Because it's not wrong to want to help others," she answered.

"It's not wrong to help others, huh?" Baldwin noted, "That sounds like a line an anime protagonist might say."

"Er, no I-"

"That's a really deep statement, you know?" Baldwin continued, "Some might say it's not right to help others to the point of neglecting yourself, but few would say it's absolutely wrong to help others."

"Yes, well, everyone is different," Emi said, "Everyone has their own ideas of right and wrong, so it only makes sense that they have different ideas of what is right. That's where conflict usually comes from - when two people have different ideas of what is right and wrong, they invariably will butt heads."

"You sound like you have experience," Baldwin commented, "Have you ever got in a fight with someone with different values than you?"

"I wouldn't know," Emi said, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment, "I have amnesia, so I don't remember."

"Ah, that's my bad," Baldwin backtracked, "I didn't mean to dredge up any bad feelings."

"No, no, it's fine. I'm slowly getting my memories back, so I'll eventually remember everything." She smiled, then noticed a large building a block away. "That's the closest public hospital," she said, pointing it out, "Can you get there without me?"

"Yes, of course. Thank you for your help, Emi-chan."

The three of them parted ways, before Emi then heard, "We'll meet again, Blacksmith!"

She spun around, but the two were already gone.

Honestly, she wasn't too surprised that he'd known her name. After all, it was what she expected of Elliot Baldwin Woodman.

* * *

Yoshino knew something was up.

Most of her Spirit power may be gone, but much like how Emi could smell magic, she could still see the flow of spirit energy in the air.

She could see the Fraxinus, a vague blob of dark blue in the sky. She could see the blue and purple shapes that drifted around Shido. She could even see the thread-like lines connecting Shido to Tohka and herself.

So when Shido returned home with patches of dark red light on his clothes, she knew he had a run-in with a Spirit.

"I'm back!" he called.

"Shido!" Tohka cried from beside her, putting down her large stack of cards and standing up from their game of Egyptian War, "Welcome back!"

Yoshino quietly put down her deck of five cards as well.

"Where are your groceries?" Tohka asked, bringing a finger up to her lip in thought, "Did you lose them?"

"My gro- erm, yeah," he chuckled awkwardly, "I was called up to the Fraxinus for something. I must have left my groceries there. Darn it! I guess I'll tell Em- I mean, I'll tell Kotori to bring them down tonight."

Shido really wasn't a good liar, but Tohka nodded anyways. "Okay, then! There's still enough food for lunch, right?"

"Tohka's really gullible, isn't she," whispered Yoshinon conspiratorially. Yoshino refused to say anything. She didn't like to badmouth people behind their back.

Even if she inwardly agreed it was true.

"Yes, there is," Shido answered, "I - um, I'll go make lunch now."

"Oh! Um," Tohka hesitated for a moment, then, "How about you join our game? Come on, it'll be fun!"

"Wow," gasped Yoshinon, "Did Tohka just tell Shido _not _to cook?"

"Th-That - well, Shido hasn't been around all morning," Tohka pouted, "I just want to spend some time with him."

Yoshino opened her mouth to speak. "I-I-" What was she doing? Just say it! "I would like to spend time with Shido-san too," she murmured.

"I really should start making lunch though," he excused. He was avoiding her, wasn't he?

"I-I understand," she whispered, her downcast eyes focusing on her hands, which were clenching the edge of her dress. "I-I'll leave you alone."

"O-on second thought, I'll join you two for a round."

And so, the power of weaponized cuteness struck another poor soul.

* * *

It was when Shido was washing the dishes that Yoshino approached him again.

Shido had tried to portray a happy expression, but she'd noticed from when he'd linger on a card or jump slightly when Tohka slapped the pile that his mind wasn't entirely there. And with the reddish-black stains invisible to anyone but herself, she had a suspicion she knew why.

She and Shido were friends, right? Friends were supposed to help each other.

"Go for it, Yoshino!" her best friend whispered in her ear, "Claim Shido for-"

She quickly silenced her puppet with her free hand. While she could admit that she felt safe and comfy around Shido, she could hardly say she fancied him.

Did she?

"Yoshino?" It seemed Shido had noticed her. She shoved her previous thoughts into a corner of her mind and tried to contain her slight blush. "Is something the matter?"

"Um," she could already feel herself freezing up.

"C'mon," Yoshinon whispered, "Just ask if he's okay!"

"Areyouokay?"

"Huh?" Shido looked confused. "Sorry, but could you repeat that?"

She gulped. "Are you okay?" she tried again.

"Yeah," he answered, "Is something the matter?"

"A-Ah, well, you seem a little upset... You weren't paying attention earlier, a-and I know you met a Spirit earlier, s-so I thought there might be something on your mind... I'm sorry if I was wrong!" She bowed her head. After a moment, she hesitantly looked up.

A small smile adorned Shido's face as he washed the dishes. "No, you're right. I do have some things on my mind."

Yoshino didn't need Yoshinon to tell her what she was supposed to say next. "You could talk to me, if you'd like to...?"

Shido looked like he was considering the offer for a second, but shook his head. "Sorry, but it's-"

"Yoshino's a very good listener!" Yoshinon leaped in to support her, "Besides, two heads are always better than one! Right, Yoshino?"

"Y-yeah."

He sighed in exasperation, but he seemed to be relieved to have someone to talk to. "Well, you know I want to save all Spirits, right?"

Yoshino nodded.

"The Spirit I met today was..." Shido struggled to find the words to explain. Was she that scary? "...Not a nice person."

"What did she do?" Yoshinon asked for her.

"She..." once again, he paused, "She hurt people."

"O-On purpose?" Yoshino gasped.

"On purpose."

Yoshinon's gasp joined Yoshino's.

"I don't know if I can save her," he confessed, "She's not... she's not the kind of person who would want to be saved. She has her own goals. She was going to ki- I mean, hurt me too. I know I'm the only one who can save her, but I don't know if a can do it." He was staring hard at the dish in his hands.

Yoshino reached out her hand. From the movies she'd watched, the best place to put your hand on to get someone's attention was the shoulder, but Shido was a bit too tall. Instead, she placed her hand on his arm.

His eyes rose to meet her's.

"Shido-san isn't the kind of person to give up on someone," she said.

"Yoshino..."

"I don't like it when people get hurt," she murmured, retracting her hand and poking her fingers together, "And I think what the other Spirit is doing is bad... But I believe there's good inside her. No one is born wanting to hurt people... that's what I'd like to believe. And I'm sure that there's someone good inside her, l-like me and Tohka, lonely and asking for you to save her."

"..."

"Shido-san, you said you would be my friend. But, b-but," she felt like her face heating up, "T-to me, y-you... You're a hero too!"

And with that, she ran out the door, ignoring Yoshinon's words and unable to look Shido in the eye.

Still, she did feel a little better after confessing her thoughts.

* * *

Emi didn't know what to make of it when Yoshino ran out of the kitchen earlier, but if the way Yoshino and Shido kept stealing glances at each other was anything to go by, it had something to do with blue haired boy.

Hopefully, they would resolve the problem themselves, though she wouldn't turn Yoshino away if she came asking for relationship advice. Not that she had any advice to give, but she doubted she could ever say no to the little cinnamon roll.

After all, said cinnamon roll was hugging her right now, and she couldn't bring herself to pry her off.

"Okay," she cut in an the TV gave an unearthly scream, "Who's idea was it to watch a horror movie?"

Tohka was shivering and clutching Shido. Shido, on the other hand, was muttering to himself... or to the Fraxinus? He had gotten a new earpiece after all. While Emi had also gotten a new one, she wasn't wearing it. Hearing Kotori's commands while the movie was playing had the side effect of ruining the atmosphere.

Emi sighed and paused the movie with the remote. Unfortunately, she had paused it just as the camera gave a close up of the apparent serial killer, prompting another shriek from Yoshino as she buried her face into Emi's jacket and continued clinging to her like her life depended on it. This had the effect of trapping Emi's right arm, so she reached across with her left arm and patted her back. "There, there," she whispered, "It's just a movie. There's no need to be scared."

Shido took the remote and turned off the television completely. "Sorry," he had the decency to look ashamed, "I shouldn't have chosen a horror film as the first movie."

"Kotori recommended it, didn't she."

"...Yeah."

"Sh-Shido," Tohka whimpered, "That was scary..."

"Don't worry. We won't watch any of those if you don't want to... hmm?" Shido tilted his head, clearly listening to Kotori again. He needed better acting skills. Perhaps she should talk to Kotori about continuing his date training.

"Let's watch 'Is this a Zombie,' season one," Emi suggested, covering up Shido's lapse in attention, "It's a comedic anime show, so you'll probably enjoy it more."

"R-Really?" Yoshino asked, eyes still teary, "B-But it has zombie in its name."

"If the zombies turn out to be scary, we can stop," Emi assured her, "Then you get to pick our next movie." Noticing Tohka pout, she added, "And then Tohka can pick the show after that," prompting the other Spirit to brighten up.

And so time passed.

* * *

As night fell upon the city, a lone ship remained in the sky. The Fraxinus, the flagship of Ratatoskr, continued its constant vigil.

"Reine," Kotori leaned over to see the screen in front of Reine's work space, "Is there something wrong with Mana?" For displayed on the screen was unmistakably the girl who claimed to be Shido's sister.

Of course, whether or not Mana was Shido's sister didn't matter. Kotori was obviously the better one. Blood ties, shmuck ties. Obviously, as the one who had been Shido's sister for the past ten years, she was the true sister! No one-

Ahem. She was getting off topic.

Reine looked surprised to see her. Kotori's analysis officer really needed to get more sleep, considering that Kotori hadn't even been trying to sneak up on her. "Yes, there's something. Where do I start?"

"What were the results of the DNA test?" Kotori asked, prompting Reine to enlarge a tab displaying two strings of letters. Most of the two lines of letters were identical and highlighted in blue.

"Mana certainly is Shido's blood-related sister," Reine confirmed. Kotori slowly let out a breath.

"...I see." It was expected, but, "Then why is she with the AST?"

"She isn't." Reine moved the windows around until her screen showed a detailed file on Mana Takamiya, labeled with information such as height and allegiance. "She's with DEM Industries."

"DEM...?"

This was bad.

DEM, known as Deus Ex Machina Industries, was an England-based corporation, and one of the only two groups in the world capable of manufacturing Realizer Units. They supplied all military and police forces around the world. If a group like the AST was Ratatoskr's rivals, DEM could be considered the evil mastermind of the enemy side. Due to DEM's dedication towards the hunting of Spirits, they were most definitely enemies. Fortunately, Ratatoskr was backed by Asgard Electronics, the only other group that manufactured Realizer Units.

Of course, DEM did not work through the military forces of other countries alone. It had its own magicians, who were said to be far superior to standard magicians.

"Hold on, why is she a magician of DEM?"

"I'm not too certain either," Reine admitted, her face morphing into a scowl as she gritted her teeth. It was perhaps one of the few times Kotori had seen her analysis officer display a significant amount of emotion, "However..."

Reine opened another window, this time displaying only Mana and numerical values. "Take a look at this."

Kotori leaned forward. "What is this?"

"Her vitals. Her entire body has been heavily modified with magic. This is likely the origin of her abnormal strength, reflexes, and ability to manipulate magical energy. However, due to this modification, she is unlikely to live more than ten years."

"Wha-"

Most wizards underwent some kind of enhancement to improve their ability to handle magical energy, usually a few implants, but Mana was on a whole other level. It was as if...

As if her body was close to a Spirit's. Did DEM have artificial Spirits at their beck and call?

"I'm not sure what she was thinking when she underwent this kind of procedure," Reine's voice snapped Kotori out of her thoughts, "But I think it's best that we don't tell Shin for now."

Kotori nodded. "Yes. He already has Nightmare on his mind. We'll wait for when he's calmer."

She stood up abruptly when her phone buzzed. She pulled it out of a pocket in her jacket. "Two messages? Eh! Sir Woodman is visiting tomorrow?! Um, Ah! We need to get his office cleaned right away! And make sure the everyone know to bring their most professional attitude tomorrow! And-"

"Commander, you're overreacting," Reine attempted to placate.

"Overreacting?! OVERREACTING?!" Kotori screamed, "He's practically my boss!"

"He's retired."

"He's the one who brought me into Ratatoskr! I can't disappoint him!"

"You'd have to be trying to disappoint him."

Amid the chaos, the second message stating 'Civillian in the Park' was left unread until the next day.

* * *

Eiji stalked forward, ignoring the urge to shuffle his feet. Shuffling your feet created noise, and noise was the last thing he wanted when he was currently somewhere he shouldn't be.

The yellow caution tape that surrounded the park was behind him. He had stepped over when he was sure no one was looking, though he wouldn't be surprised if someone was using magical methods to spy on the place in ways he couldn't detect. All he could do to counter this was to wear a hoodie with the hood up and cover his face with a mask. He had also brought a large bag, with a flashlight, food, water, a BB gun, and a bat.

He was here for leads. He needed somewhere to start his search for magic, so he needed to investigate the area before whatever authorities there were in charge of these issues cleaned the area up.

As he neared where he knew the battle had taken place before, a feeling of _wrongness_ began to wash over him. Something was telling him to go back.

Of course, he wasn't taking any of that.

Step forward.

The feeling grew.

Step forward.

There was a pressure in his head.

Step forward.

He could barely think-

Step forwa-

And suddenly, he in the light.

No, light was a bit of an exaggeration. He was still mostly hidden by the shadows of trees, but it was significantly brighter.

He stepped back.

As if by magic - no, it probably was magic - everything darkened. The unbearable pressure returned.

He stepped forward.

There was light again.

Through the trees, he could see a few people walking around the clearing that the battle had taken place in. As Eiji slid closer to watch, he saw one person lift a section of the ground with a flick of a wrist for another person, who then placed an entire tree in the formed hole. They were planting full grown trees to replace the ones that had been knocked over.

Another magician was patting a tree. It had been shot full of holes, but as Eiji watched, the holes disappeared under the magician's hands.

There were only five magicians in total, but as hotheaded as he could be, Eiji knew full well that he couldn't fight any of them. Instead he stuck to the trees, sneaking around the clearing and picking up anything that seemed out of place and storing it in his bag.

He didn't trust these magicians. Heck, he wouldn't trust anyone who could do magic. If they could bend the truth so that the public never found out about magic, there was plenty of other things they could bend. Who knows? They might just off him on the spot. No witnesses.

Since he was going out of his way not to be seen, there was no way he'd be able to carefully study anything here. He had to bring as many things back home as he could. Hopefully, he'd know what to do from there.


	10. Kurumi Knockdown 7

**Another short chapter, but I wanted this out in time for Christmas. And I'm not the kind of person to insert stuff into the text just for word count. ****It's been so long since I wrote a chapter that I actually had to go back and refresh myself. As an added note, I rewrote some stuff in the previous chapters. The only thing retconned is that Emi's spirit name has been changed from Heroine to Blacksmith, as I had to agree with Qrow that it was unlikely for Ratatoskr to call her that. I also added a hint to Emi's Angel in chapter 1.**

**I didn't realize it, but last chapter Date a Fate exceeded The Divine Spirit in word count! I'm proud to have reached the same level as one of the fics that inspired me to write this... yet a little sad that Ashen Messenger hasn't updated in a while. His writing's better than mine though, so he's still worth checking out!**

**Eiji's story will unfold parallel to the main story for some time, but they will eventually intersect. But that's later. Way later.**

**I repeat: Emi's Angel is not her Reality Marble.**

**Empire Player... your review was scary. Did you read my mind? You mentioned quite a few possibilities that were actually spot on. Not only that, but your reasoning, at points, was exactly the same as mine. I'm actually afraid to answer you questions because of how close you were and how much may be revealed. Such mind reading powers must be cultivated!**

**A lot of my previous chapters heavily relied on the DaL LN for ideas. This chapter was initially going to be the same... except the meeting-Woodman scene happens way later in canon, so this ended up being entirely different from the LN. Is it better? Or worse?**

**Mild spoiler: There's a reason Yoshino and Tohka don't get a pass for themselves. Elliot is afraid that Tohka would lose her pass. And if he gave both Emi and Yoshino a pass, Tohka would probably ask for one too. Yes, Elliot actually thought that through.**

* * *

Ever since Emi had started training Shido in the mornings, she had breakfast with the Itsukas. It was simply more convenient for her to bring a change of clothes and help Shido make breakfast instead of returning to her apartment for breakfast and to change. Shido was grateful as well, as he was often sore and tired after their training sessions.

Of course, if Emi was going to eat at Shido's house, Tohka and Yoshino would come too. It was Tohka who first became jealous and insisted that she also dine with them. And then Yoshino, who didn't want to be left out, had begged with pout to come over as well.

And so, everyone had their breakfast in the Itsuka household.

"Everyone," Kotori said suddenly at breakfast as she jabbed a piece of scrambled egg on her plate with a fork, "There's someone important at Ratatoskr who wants to see us."

This was unexpected. Emi was under the impression that she had already finished all her tests and was cleared to stay among humans. Not to mention, something was nagging her. Unless...

She studied Kotori carefully and immediately picked up a few details. For one, she was serious - unusually serious for her regular attitude, so Emi assumed she was in commander mode, an assumption that was backed by the black ribbons in her hair. Another thing was that she was wearing her Ratatoskr uniform, which was strange - didn't she have school? But that alone shouldn't be the cause of her unease.

And then it hit her. Kotori had buttoned up her coat. Kotori _never_ buttoned up her coat, always leaving it hanging on her shoulders. Therefore, it stood to reason that the person that wanted to met her was someone Kotori respected enough to dress properly.

So Emi put one and one together.

"It's Mr. Woodman, isn't it?"

"Eh?! How'd-" Kotori blushed when everyone turned to look at her. "Ahem. I meant, yes, it is Mr. Woodman."

"Isn't he your former boss, Kotori?" Shido asked.

"Mm! I wewember wow!" Tohka managed, mouth still full. She swallowed her food. "You said he was super sick. Is he okay now?" She asked worriedly.

Kotori sighed. "He's not sick. He's just getting old, and unfortunately, there's no cure for age. But," she continued, "He is still an excellent leader, and I won't tolerate anyone badmouthing him, you hear?" Her eyes roamed over their faces, as if to make the severity of her statement clear.

They hadn't said anything yet, though.

"We haven't said anything yet," Tohka pouted. It seemed that she and Emi were of one mind.

"I could say something," Yoshinon whispered loudly.

"I'm just laying down the ground rules," Kotori answered, "Am I understood?"

"Yes, yes," Emi sighed. No point in irritating the twin-tailed little tsundere with a loud mouth. From experience, that tended not to go well.

...From experience?

Strange. When had she ever met someone like Kotori?

* * *

"Are you ready?" Emi asked a fidgeting Kotori.

Kotori had lead all of them to a large skyscraper with the words "Asgard Electronics" spelled out in large letters on the roof. Even though it was situated in downtown Tengu City, the building towered over those around it. Halfway up the building was a large opening, similar to a dock or a hanger.

"I'm fine," Kotori snapped, "Come on, our appointment is in five minutes." She marched forward, with the rest of them letting her take the lead. None of the knew their way around the tower, after all. Though Emi was already committing as much as she could to memory.

They followed Kotori to an elevator. She pulled out a card and waved it before a scanner before the doors opened and they all crowded in. As soon as the doors closed, the elevator began to move upwards, despite no buttons having been pressed.

Fancy. She moved closer to the doors and noticed that there were only three buttons on the panel - open, close, and emergency. There was also a security camera placed in the corner above the buttons. It was as if it whoever placed it hadn't even bothered to hide it, but then again, people rarely looked up.

A cold hand wormed its way into her's, and she immediately knew it was Yoshino. She didn't need to see her face to know that the blue-haired Spirit was apprehensive about the situation.

"Are we in trouble?" Yoshino whimpered as she clung to Emi, "I don't think I did anything."

Emi patted her head and offered her the most encouraging smile she could. "Don't worry. Mr. Woodman probably just wants to meet us in person."

On the opposite side of the elevator, Shido was likewise comforting a distressed Kotori. "What if I disappointed him?" She muttered to herself, "What if he doesn't want me to be captain anymore? I'm really young for a captain; did he find someone better to replace me?"

"I-I doubt it's going to be anything like that," Shido tried to comfort, "Maybe he just wants to catch up with what you've been up to?"

"No, no," she continued to mutter, seemingly not realizing that she was talking out loud or that it was Shido who was speaking to her, "Mr Woodman's probably really busy. There's no way he'd arrange a meeting just to catch up with-"

A loud ding snapped Kotori out of her thoughts, just as Yoshino let out a "yeep!" They exited the elevator to find themselves in a long hallway. Wordlessly, Kotori lead them to a door at the end of the hall and knocked.

"Come in!" came a familiar voice. It seemed her suspicions were correct.

Kotori quickly straightened her coat and running a hand through her hair as if to make sure it was straight before opening the door. Emi chose not to mention that there was a tuft of hair still sticking up like an ahoge.

The door opened to a large room with a single desk and a few chairs around the room. The wall behind the desk was a window - possible escape route - that gave a view of the city. In front of the desk were two people, an middle-aged man in a wheelchair and a young woman with white hair.

"Hello, Baldwin!" Emi cheerily called out as soon as she saw the person sitting behind the desk. Beside her, Kotori made a choking sound.

"Hello to you too, Emi!" The man replied with a twinkle in his eyes and a grin on his face, "It's nice to see that you are doing well."

"Same to you, Baldwin. Or should I call you Elliot? Or Mr. Woodman?"

"Y-Y-You've... You've met Mr. Woodman?" Kotori squeaked, a trembling finger hovering between the two.

"Indeed," Baldwin informed her, "Just yesterday, miss Emi was so very kind to give Karen and I directions to the hospital. Ah," and here he redirected his attention to Emi, "You may call me any of the above. I was a little surprised that you managed to connect the dots. And here I was, thinking I was being so very clever for meeting you without revealing that I was the founder of Ratatoskr."

"I have a good memory and a knack for details," was her comment. He gave her a nod.

"But I haven't forgotten about you either, commander Kotori! How have you been? We haven't been able to speak like this in a while. Can you forgive this old man for wanting to spend some time catching up with my favorite commander? I've heard that you've had a busy past few weeks."

Shido subtly shot Kotori an _'I told you so'_ look.

Kotori not-so-subtly stomped on his foot.

"S-Sure," she answered, "But maybe after this meeting?"

"Ah, yes, of course. I wouldn't want to leave all of you waiting while I chatted with your commander, now, would I? That would be incredibly rude."

"Ahem," Karen, who had been standing behind Woodman the whole time, coughed into her hand. "Speaking of incredibly rude..."

"Sorry, sorry!" Woodman chuckled, "I should introduce myself, shouldn't I? After all, poor Shido, Tohka, and Yoshino haven't met me before. My name is Elliot Baldwin Woodman, and I am the founder of Ratatoskr and the head of Asgard Electronics."

"I am Karen Nora Mathers," Karen said as seriously as ever, "I serve as Elliot's aide and secretary. It is a pleasure to meet you all."

"I'm Shido Itsuka. Nice to meet you too."

"I'm Tohka!"

"...Yoshino."

"With introductions out of the way, shall I get down to business?" Woodman paused, his eyes roaming over all of them until they rested on Shido.

"First things first. Shido Itsuka."

"Yes?" Shido seemed apprehensive about being called out.

"I apologize for-" the man frowned, then leaned forward. "Actually, could you come a little closer to the desk? My eyesight is not what it was before."

"Eh? Okay." Shido advanced forward towards Woodman, who attentively examined his face.

"I see... you look familiar... almost like..." Woodman trailed off and his eyes gained a distant tint, as if he was searching through his memories.

"Like who?" Shido was understandably confused.

"Ah, no, my bad. That boy was from many years ago. There's no way you could be him."

...A long lost relative? If Shido was adopted, could this unknown boy be his father?

"Excuse me," Emi interjected, "But what was his name?"

"Shinji Takamiya." Woodman was still studying Shido. "The resemblance is uncanny... but Shinji died nearly thirty years ago. It's probably a coincidence."

For some reason, Emi disliked the name 'Shinji.' But the name Takamiya, that was Mana's last name as well. A relative? Or a coincidence?

Woodman shook his head as if to dislodge his thoughts. "Sorry, I went off track there. I invited you here to apologize for the pressure Ratatoskr places on you." Ignoring his "huh?" of surprise, Woodman continued, "I've been told that you've been frustrated by your failure to seal Nightmare."

"That- well, sort of," Shido admitted, shuffling his feet, "It's just that every moment she's out... there," he indicated to the window, "She could be killing someone. And yet, I don't want Mana - do you know about Mana?"

"I do." Of course he did. Kotori probably reported everything to him.

"I don't want Mana to be killing her." He was beginning to fidget with his hands. "I don't want anyone killing Kurumi at all, nor do I want Mana killing anyone."

"And so you're conflicted," Woodman said with patience, "You know what she's doing is wrong, yet you still want to save her."

"That's... well, I guess you're correct, in a way. But you're not entirely right. I've already made up my mind. I fully understand that what she's doing is wrong, but I still want to save her. There is no conflict, no doubt, because I'm sure that some part of Kurumi - some good part of Kurumi - wants to be saved."

Emi understood the want to heal someone who was hurting. She could understand wanting to save everyone they met. But ultimately, it was impossible to save everyone. It seemed Shido was already making the decision to save the people before him instead of the countless masses that were endangered by Kurumi's rampage. It certainly wasn't the path of a hero - someone who saved as many people as possible - but of a human.

And humans were selfish creatures that would sacrifice the world for a slice of happiness for themselves and the people around them.

For some reason, she kept these thoughts to herself.

There was a pause, and then, "I see." Woodman continued to smile. "I had been worried that you might have been struggling with your feelings. But you were more determined than I thought. I'm sorry for underestimating your resolve."

"No, I had help," Shido admitted, the corners of his mouth turning upward in a small smile, "If it weren't for Kotori and Yoshino, I would've still been struggling to come to a decision."

Emi noted that Kotori's cheeks became tinted with pink, though otherwise there was no reaction. On the other hand, Yoshino hid her face behind her hair.

"That doesn't devalue your determination, though you should thank them for having your back. I'm sure they'll appreciate it."

Kotori's blush remained. Yoshino began edging her way behind Emi.

"Actually, speaking of Yoshino, I also wanted to talk to the new Spirits." Woodman turned his attention to the three Spirits.

"Mm?" This time it was Tohka who responded as she turned away from the window - was that why she had been quiet until now?

"Watcha wanna talk about?" Yoshinon chirped.

"How have things been for all of you?" he asked.

"Great!" Tohka answered, "I have fun with Shido every day! Even going to school is fun an exciting!"

"I-I...like staying with Shido-san."

"Well, I got a room and a little disciple to tor - train, to train," Emi shrugged, "I'm not complaining."

"You were about to say torture, weren't you," Shido deadpanned.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Emi answered just as flatly.

"You're all quite lively. That's good," Woodman spoke up, "I'm glad you're all happy. I founded Ratatoskr to save Spirits and give them a better life, so its great to see that you're all having a wonderful time. I'm sorry for asking you all to come here at such an inopportune time for such a small question, but my schedule is rather booked, and I needed to know that what Ratatoskr is doing is right. If you have any questions for-"

Karen tapped his shoulder and indicated to a card sitting on the side of his desk. The moment his eyes lay on it, he gave a brief start. "Oh, I almost forgot. Emi, this is for you." Emi approached the desk to receive the card. Written on the top were the words "Limited Research Access."

"With that, you should be able to tap into Ratatoskr's information on Spirits. After all, I've been told that's what you asked for when you agreed to help us, wasn't it?"

It was indeed, but... "Why does it say 'limited?'" she asked. 'Is there something you're hiding?' was the unsaid question.

"I could not get you an actual research pass, unfortunately," Woodman said with a sigh, his smile dropping for an moment, "When it comes down to it, Ratatoskr is lead by the Round Table, and they are the ones who make the decision to reveal information. That card is the highest card I'm allowed to give away without going through them... and you do not want to gain their attention."

"Are they the kind of people who only want Spirits around to use as tools?"

Tohka gasped. "There are people like that?"

"Emi got it exactly right. We've managed to pull some strings, you see. On paper, the reports all say that you've been sealed." Woodman's grin became just the tad bit mischievous. "They don't say _who_ did the sealing though, and that has been enough for them to pay you only just as much attention as Yoshino and Tohka. But if I wanted to get you a full access pass, I'd need to speak with the Round Table, and that would doubtlessly make them raise questions about _why_ you need a pass. And with that, comes extra scrutiny."

"What do I have clearance to see with this?" Emi asked, as she studied the card. It had a watermark of a squirrel hugging a nut, and the color of the card was a rusty red.

"It should allow you to see everything except for current and active projects," Woodman replied, "It gives you access to our entire database, but cannot give you information about current Ratatoskr operations. The Round Table _had _to give me permission to access and grant access to at least that much, since much of that data is stored with Asgard Electronics anyways."

"If they had their way, the Round Table would keep Mr. Woodman out of Ratatoskr completely," Karen explained.

"Of course. Greedy corporate businessmen," Kotori agreed.

"Now, you two-"

"Warning." Came the loud voice over the sudden sound of sirens, "There have been signs of an impending spatial quake. Please evacuate to the nearest shelter."

"It's Nightmare," Karen said, now checking a phone, "It seems she want to blow up your school."

* * *

With a burst of light, the five of them were on board the Fraxinus again. Out of habit, Shido made to head to the control room, but Kotori stopped him.

"No time," she said, "We need to get you down there as fast as possible. Get in the teleporter again."

"No," Emi intervened, "Send me down first. I can at least make sure it's safe for Shido down there."

Kotori shook her head. "That won't do. We want Shido to talk to Kurumi, and to seal her. It wouldn't work if we send you first."

"Then I'll go with him," came her response, "We'll go at the same time. Come on, Shido. You'll be fine. You can still summon Ascalon, can't you?"

Shido brought up a hand. Wisps of gold light drifted in his palm before he dismissed it. "Yeah," he said, "Yeah, lets go."

"Wait!" It was Tohka. "Let me go too!" she protested, "I want to help Shido as well!"

"M-Me too..."

"All aboard!" Yoshinon agreed.

Kotori shot them down. "No."

"But Emi-"

"Emi still has full access to her Spirit powers. On the other hand, Spirits that have been sealed by Shido can only access their Spirit powers when stressed, and only part of them. Unfortunately, it's too dangerous for you two."

"That..."

"You two," Kotori turned her attention back to Shido and Emi. "Get in. I'll send you down in a moment."

The two stepped into the teleporter.

"We'll be back," Shido said.

"Don't worry," Emi told them.

They ignored how Yoshino bit her lip in worry and Tohka clenched her fist in frustration.

* * *

A blade flashed forward, eager for the neck it had bitten into many times before.

Kurumi stepped back.

"You won't get away with this!" Mana snarled as immediately adjusted and swung again, "I'll kill you, just as I've done all the previous times!"

Kurumi remembered those deaths. How Mana had previously bisected her with such a swing.

Kurumi easily knocked the energy blade away with a lazy swing of her musket. Mana was so fun to mess with whenever they fought - though this time Kurumi would have to play things a little more seriously. While she used her musket to parry, she brought up her flintlock pistol and fired a shot that Mana deflected with her Territory. "Oh dear. It seems you haven't caught on yet." She continued to back away, avoiding and parrying Mana's swings. "I'm sorry, but this time, I don't plan on dying at all."

She suddenly lashed out, the butt of the musket striking Mana in the stomach and sending her flying back across the roof.

"Time to end this. Zaphkiel! Aleph!"

A golden clock materialized behind her, and black smoke began to drift from the roman numeral "I" into her flintlock. With her Angel active, she pointed her pistol up through her chin and fired.

Immediately, time slowed down. Mana began to get up, but it was as if she was moving through honey. Calmly, Kurumi walked up to her and pointed her guns at her exposed thighs.

"Checkmate, little wizard."

Bang!

Three sounds. Two of them were her musket and pistol as they each fired a round into Mana's legs, ensuring that she would not be standing. The wizard's Territory flickered into existence, trying to fend off the attack, but Kurumi had fed her bullets enough Spirit energy to punch through. As it was, it was only thanks to the Territory that Mana did not outright lose both legs.

The third bang, however, was unexpected.

"Ah, Origami-san! How nice of you to drop in?" Kurumi gave the white haired girl the biggest smile she had as the effects of Aleph wore off. The AST member had slammed the door to the roof open. Other than to give her fallen comrade a glance, she kept an eye on Kurumi.

"Nightmare." Origami's eyes narrowed. "I won't let you get away."

"Oh my!" She put a finger to her cheek and tilted her head, as if genuinely worried. She wasn't able to play with Mana, so she supposed Origami would do quite nicely. "Well, that's too bad. I was going to say the same to you. Zaphkiel! Het!" With another bang, another bullet deposited itself into her head. Then, from the ground, hands began to emerge. In an instant, a small army of Kurumi clones had emerged.

"After all, you're such a delicious treat." Kurumi licked her lips. "I can't wait to eat you up."


End file.
